Gov. Brian Kemp (left) defeated former U.S. Sen. David Perdue Tuesday in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp captured renomination for a second term Tuesday, defeating former U.S. Sen. David Perdue in the Republican primary without the need for a runoff.
At 10:15 p.m., with 57% of the vote counted, Kemp had amassed 72.5% of the statewide vote to just 22.7% for Perdue.
Educator Kandiss Taylor, conservative activist Catherine Davis and retired software engineer Tom Williams trailed far behind in the low single digits.
Perdue took the stage at a Sheraton Hotel in suburban Smyrna at 8:30 p.m., pledging to support Kemp in the November election despite the bitter campaign he waged against the incumbent.
“I just called the governor and congratulated him,” Perdue told supporters. “I want you to do the same thing.”
Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams, who won her party’s gubernatorial nomination unopposed.
“[Kemp] is a much better choice than Stacey Abrams,” Perdue said.
Kemp addressed his supporters at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta about an hour after Perdue, touting his accomplishments in more than three years in office.
“We cracked down on gangs and human trafficking,” he said. “We expanded access to rural broadband. We lowered the cost of health insurance, and we back and will continue to back our men and women in law enforcement.
“In Georgia, we protected both lives and livelihoods during the global pandemic. We passed historic tax cuts, raised teacher pay and brought the two largest economic development projects in state history to Georgia.”
While Kemp and Perdue disagreed over some issues, Perdue focused his campaign on the governor’s refusal to go along with former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the Georgia results in the 2020 presidential election.
Carrying Trump’s endorsement, Perdue accused Kemp of ignoring evidence of widespread voter fraud, allegations that have been repeatedly dismissed as false in multiple court rulings.
Kemp said he followed the Constitution and the law, which gave him as governor no role to play in the certification of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
Kemp also pointed to the passage of election law changes following the 2020 election imposing a photo ID requirement for absentee voting and restricting the location of absentee ballot drop boxes.
The governor defended his record on a host of issues throughout the campaign, including maintaining Georgia’s status as the No.-1 state in the nation in which to do business and passing the “heartbeat” bill prohibiting abortions in Georgia after a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy.
Kemp cited his decision to reopen Georgia businesses during the early months of the pandemic as key to the state’s quick recovery from the economic impact of COVID-19.
He also scored two significant economic development victories with announcements of new electric-vehicle manufacturing plants in December and just last week.
Perdue leveled some of his strongest criticism of Kemp at the $1.5 billion in incentives the state offered EV startup Rivian to build a $5 billion plant near Interstate 20 east of Atlanta. The challenger called instead for eliminating the state income tax as a better way to lure jobs to Georgia.
Perdue also argued that the election reform and anti-abortion measures passed on Kemp’s watch didn’t go far enough.
He said if elected he would push for legislation creating a new state law enforcement agency focusing solely on investigating voter fraud.
Perdue also called for a complete ban on abortion after the first draft of an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision apparently overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion was leaked to the news media.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) released a statement Tuesday night congratulating Kemp on his primary victory.
“Tonight, voters proved that Governor Brian Kemp is a results-driven leader who has always put Georgia first,” said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Pete Ricketts, the governor of Nebraska, co-chairmen of the RGA. “As we were in the primary, the RGA is all-in and we will be there to ensure Governor Kemp is re-elected this fall.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Gov. Brian Kemp addresses a rally at Cobb County International Airport in Kennesaw. (Photo credit: Rebecca Grapevine)
KENNESAW – The one-sided feud between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence came to Georgia Monday, with Pence stumping for Gov. Brian Kemp and Trump rallying his loyalists to back former U.S. Sen. David Perdue.
In the final day of campaigning in what has been a bruising Republican primary race, Pence urged GOP voters to stick with the incumbent governor. Trump staged a second “tele-rally” of the campaign, encouraging callers to support Perdue.
Seeing Pence and Kemp share a stage at Cobb County International Airport was altogether fitting. Both are at the top of Trump’s enemies list for refusing to help the then-president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Perdue has centered his campaign to oust Kemp around claims that widespread voter fraud in Georgia robbed Trump of victory – allegations rejected in multiple courts – and that the governor did nothing to stop it.
“[Kemp] allowed the Georgia election to be rigged and stolen,” Trump said during the tele-rally. “Brian Kemp is truly an embarrassment to the Republican Party.”
“The people of Georgia are fed up with career politicians lying to them,” Perdue said earlier Monday during a press conference at a restaurant in Dunwoody.
Neither Kemp nor Pence took the bait. During a news conference ahead of Monday evening’s rally with Pence, the governor said he has never had a bad word for Trump and is not angry with him.
At the rally, Kemp stuck to touting his record over more than three years as governor.
“We have stood up and [taken] the fight to street gangs and street racers, and we’re going to continue to do that as long as I’m your governor,” he said. “We passed the strongest election integrity [legislation] in the country. … We’re the No.-1 state in the country for business.”
Kemp said his decision to reopen Georgia’s economy early in the pandemic was the right move and has paid off.
“We caught unmerciful grief from the national media … and [Democratic gubernatorial candidate] Stacey Abrams, saying we moved too early,” he said. “I wasn’t listening to them. … I was listening to the barbers, cosmetologists, waitresses, and the restaurant owners who said, ‘We can’t go another day, we can’t last another week.’ “
Pence, too, has refrained for the most part from criticizing Trump even as the former president has attacked him for refusing to stop the certification of the Electoral College votes that put Democrat Joe Biden in the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, hours after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
On Monday, Pence praised Kemp’s contributions during the final two years of the Trump administration.
“There was no greater champion of the conservative agenda that we advanced with the support of the people of Georgia in Washington D.C.,” Pence told the crowd. “With Governor Kemp’s support and your support … we achieved the lowest unemployment, the highest household income, the most energy production, the most pro-American trade deals, the most secure border, and the strongest military the world has ever known.”
Perdue called for eliminating the state income tax, something he said neither Kemp nor Abrams supports.
He also criticized the $1.5 billion incentives package the state provided electric-vehicle maker Rivian, which announced plans last December to invest $5 billion in a manufacturing plant east of Atlanta that is expected to create up to 7,500 jobs.
“I want to create jobs the right way,” he said.
Perdue said a bill Kemp backed this year to give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation original jurisdiction to investigate voter fraud doesn’t go far enough.
“I want a law enforcement agency dedicated to nothing but election law,” he said.
The polls across Georgia open at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Voters will have until 7 p.m. to cast their ballots.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
STONE MOUNTAIN – A company run by a veteran executive at Stone Mountain Park will take over as private manager of the park this summer.
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association’s board voted unanimously Monday to select Thrive Attractions Management to run the park starting in August.
Thrive, owned by Michael Dombrowski, the park’s vice president and general manager since 2014, was the only qualified bidder for the management contract.
“I am thrilled to be able to continue the great work of managing Stone Mountain Park, and to keep in place an experienced group of senior managers and engaged employees,” Dombrowski said after Monday’s vote.
“We’ll build on our success by caring for and loving our employees and guests and ensuring Stone Mountain Park is a welcoming and inclusive environment for all visitors from Atlanta, the nation and the world.”
The board chose Thrive as sole finalist to manage the park last October and entered what turned out to be lengthy negotiations with the company. The 50-page contract was approved Monday following a closed-door executive session that lasted more than an hour.
“This is an important milestone for the Stone Mountain Memorial Association,” said the Rev. Abraham Mosley, chairman of the Stone Mountain board.
“Thrive will continue to bring stability and unmatched depth of knowledge. I’m confident that we will build on the success of the current relationship for the better good of the park and the community.”
The new manager takes over as the park’s board continues to grapple with a tug of war over Stone Mountain’s future between activists pushing to deemphasize Confederate imagery at the park and Civil War heritage preservationists who see Stone Mountain as a memorial to the bravery of their ancestors who fought for the South.
The carving of three Confederate leaders on the side of Stone Mountain cannot be removed by law. Legislation the General Assembly passed in 2019 prohibits removing historic monuments from public property.
However, the board adopted a new logo for the association last year that leaves out the Confederate symbols contained in the old logo.
Also, the board has released a request for proposals for a company with experience in museum exhibition design to develop an interpretive plan for a museum exhibit at the park’s Memorial Hall that will tell a more complete story of the carving as art and Stone Mountain’s role in Georgia history.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Voters wait in line at a precinct in Cobb County on May 18, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Early voting ahead of next week’s Georgia primaries ended Friday with an all-time high of more than 850,000 voters either casting a ballot in person or returning an absentee ballot.
Those totals represented a 168% increase over early voting ahead of the last gubernatorial primaries in 2018 and a 212% jump over early voting turnout for the primaries two years ago.
The record early voting showing is a testament of public trust in the process since the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed election reform legislation last year, GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Saturday.
The 2021 measure, branded by legislative Democrats as voter suppression, replaced the signature-match verification process for absentee ballots with a photo ID requirement and restricted the location of absentee ballot drop boxes.
“The incredible turnout we have seen demonstrates once and for all that Georgia’s Election Integrity Act struck a good balance between the guardrails of access and security,” Raffensperger said.
Republicans cast 483,149 early ballots compared to 368,949 voters who cast Democratic ballots. Independent voters cast 5,303 nonpartisan ballots.
The GOP top-of-the-ballot races have drawn the most attention this spring, with Gov. Brian Kemp facing a challenge from former U.S. Sen. David Perdue and University of Georgia football great Herschel Walker leading a field of candidates running for the U.S. Senate.
Stacey Abrams is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination unopposed, while incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has only token primary opposition.
Reports of Democrats choosing Republican primary ballots to vote against GOP candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump also may have helped swell early voting in GOP primaries.
Georgians who registered to vote by April 25 will be able to cast their primary ballots in person Tuesday on Election Day or return a previously requested absentee ballot by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
This story isavailable through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
The Atlanta Community Food Bank is gearing up for increased food demand this summer. (Photo credit: Atlanta Community Food Bank)
ATLANTA – Georgians who rely on food stamps are set to see a steep decrease in the amount of money they receive each month starting in June.
That’s because increased food stamp amounts were tied to Georgia’s COVID emergency.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision not to renew Georgia’s COVID emergency declaration in mid-April triggered the end of the federal program that provided extra food aid to almost 777,000 Georgians each month.
Each household received, at the very least, an additional $95 per month, said Kylie Winton, spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, which oversees the food stamp program in Georgia. Some families received much more.
But in June, food benefit calculations will return to the pre-COVID method that is tied to a family’s size, income, and expenses, Winton said.
The decrease in food stamps – also called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – comes at a time of rising food costs.
Georgia can expect “a very abrupt hunger cliff,” said Ellen Vollinger, SNAP director for the Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group in Washington.
“It’s going to hit different households somewhat differently, but it’s going to hit them all and it’s going to them hard,” she said.
State food stamp recipients were receiving close to a total of $119 million each month in the extra pandemic funding, according to Georgia’s latest filing with the federal agency that runs the program.
“That economic boost is going to be lost,” said Vollinger.
“This is going to cause a lot of additional strain for individuals and families,” said Ife Finch Floyd, a senior economic justice policy analyst with the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute in Atlanta. “That may mean you’re buying less food because your other sources of income, your cash, might have to go to other things: rent, utilities, gas.”
Food banks across the state are gearing up for increased demand while also dealing with rising costs of food and fuel prices.
Though food demand is below its initial peak during the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the first half of 2021, the Atlanta Community Food Bank is still distributing 30% to 35% more food than it did pre-pandemic.
“Our costs are higher at a time when demand is increasing,” said Kyle Waide, the food bank’s president and CEO. The organization is paying more for food and its vehicle costs are up, mostly due to higher fuel prices.
“It was our preference that we find ways to extend the expanded, enhanced SNAP benefits in Georgia,” Waide said. “The state made its decision for a variety of reasons, not just because they didn’t want to extend benefits, but there are other factors that went into that decision.”
“These are complex issues. … We work closely with partners in Washington on both sides of the political spectrum. … Everybody we work with believes that everybody should have enough food.”
Most people who need food assistance, whether from food pantries or food stamps, work, Waide said.
Brandy Roe is one such hard-working Georgian concerned about the upcoming cuts in her food stamp benefits. The mother of five lives in Summerville. She works at a shoe store, and her husband is a mechanic.
“Getting the maximum benefit amount of SNAP really, really helped us be able to get things caught up and try to stay ahead of the game,” Roe said about the increased food benefit amounts.
Roe estimated the amount of food funds her family received increased by about $600, enough to cover almost all of the family’s monthly food costs.
“We’ll do the best we can” when the food aid decreases next month, said Roe. “If it comes down to that, we’ll eat lots of sandwiches.”
Roe said she isn’t convinced the pandemic is over, noting she lost several family members to COVID and has recently noticed longer lines at the Urgent Care she passes on her way home from work.
“Maybe Georgia has really jumped the gun,” she said.
Earlier this spring, the General Assembly passed an omnibus mental health reform bill aimed at turning around the state’s dismal mental health outcomes.
But without an adequate supply of nutritious food, it could be hard to address the mental health issues facing the state, said Dr. Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Obesity and Food Policy at the University of Connecticut.
“There is research showing that you are at higher risk of mental health issues like depression and anxiety if you’re food insecure,” Schwartz said. “To think you can address mental health when you’re not addressing just basic needs, like food and housing, you’re not going to get very far.”
Earlier this month, Kemp announced the award of millions of dollars from federal relief funds to Georgia organizations to help offset the economic impact of the pandemic.
