Former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia -- one of the earliest promoters of the Big Lie while trying in vain to win reelection in 2020 -- has let it be known that he might launch a primary challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
A Perdue candidacy would center the race right where Donald Trump wants it: on continuing to hustle the Big Lie that the election was stolen in 2020. Kemp is one of Trump's major targets for having not sufficiently supported Trump's insurrection by overturning President Joe Biden's victory in Georgia.
The headline in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution summed it up succinctly: "Perdue challenge could trigger "scorched earth" GOP battle against Kemp."
"In recent weeks, Perdue has called donors and other allies to float the idea, according to eight people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters," the AJC reported. "Several of them said he's "conflicted" about a run, while others say he's leaning toward a challenge.
"Perdue has kept quiet publicly about his plans, and he declined to comment. But he remains close to former President Donald Trump, who encouraged the former U.S. senator to run at a rally in Middle Georgia in September. Trump's allies also recently leaked polls that show Perdue in a strong position."
The reporting also noted that "Trump has vowed to oppose Kemp over his refusal to overturn his election defeat, even saying he wished Stacey Abrams had won the 2018 election." Meanwhile, Perdue had promised in his Senate runoff election against Sen. Jon Ossoff that he would vote to overturn Biden's election -- even though his election wouldn't have certified in time to fulfill that promise. But he lost anyway.
In response to the rumor that Perdue would jump into the race, "an on-the-record statement from Kemp spokesman Tate Mitchell said a Perdue challenge would be a betrayal because the former senator pledged "personally" to support the governor's reelection bid," the paper reported.
"Privately, Kemp's allies have used far stronger language, warning of a "scorched earth" campaign and a "fight to the finish" against Perdue if he enters the race. The subtext is that the governor won't be scared out of running for a second term. It could be a particularly brutal affair."
When Perdue was locked in his similarly brutal struggle against Ossoff, he prominently featured Trump's election lie as a reason for Georgia to support him. Looking back, an appearance he made on Fox News promoting that lie just four weeks after Trump was still shocking to the media, as evidenced by the words of Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent:
"As the Georgia senator's Thursday night appearance showed, his smarmy two-step with Trump voters runs as follows: President Trump is right. The presidential election's integrity is in doubt. And Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner. But you should channel your anger over this by voting in the runoff election, whose integrity I will guarantee to right the wrong done to you, so I can act as a check on Biden.
"It is often claimed that Republicans who refuse to concede Trump's loss are suffering from "cowardice" or that he has held them "hostage." In this telling, Republicans secretly know the truth but won't say so, simply because the political price of weathering his fearsome rage-tweets is too great."
The smarminess that alarmed the columnist last December 4 has also multiplied many times over, to put it mildly. It has expanded to the current Republican talking points that the election was stolen from Trump -- full stop -- and that the criminals carrying out the January 6 Capitol insurrection were patriots fighting tyranny.
And if David Perdue mounts a primary for governor in the pivotal state of Georgia against a far-right incumbent who's perceived political crime is rejecting insurgency, bet on the Big Lie narrative to become smarmier than ever.
