A new Monmouth poll in Georgia finds more than half of voters will either definitely (44%) or probably (11%) vote to reelect Gov. Brian Kemp in November. His definite support number increased by 10 points since September.

Meanwhile, just over 4 in 10 voters will definitely (35%) or probably (8%) back Abrams, which is basically unchanged from last month.

Key takeaway: Half of the voters polled have definitely ruled out voting for Abrams (50%) compared with only one-third who say the same about Kemp (35%).

“The voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams spent more than $25 million over two years on legal fees, mostly on a single case, with the largest amount going to the self-described boutique law firm of the candidate’s campaign chairwoman,” Politico reports.

“Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ close friend who chaired her gubernatorial campaign both in 2018 and her current bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, is one of two named partners in Lawrence & Bundy, a small firm of fewer than two dozen attorneys.”

Molly Ball: “Trump put more money and effort into unseating Kemp this year than any other Republican who has crossed him, even Liz Cheney, the crusading anti-Trump congresswoman. When he turned on Kemp, many figured the governor’s career might as well be over.”

“But Trump’s attempt to oust Kemp failed spectacularly. The governor clobbered Trump’s handpicked candidate, former Senator David Perdue, by more than 50 points in the May primary. And far from damaging Kemp, the feud with Trump may have left him better off politically than he was before, burnishing his brand with Trump-skeptical independent voters. That makes Kemp the rare—perhaps the only—GOP pol to have used Trump better than Trump used him.”

Kemp’s feud with Trump has allowed him to elevate his profile among moderate voters who were skeptical of him four years ago.

“Stacey Abrams (D) continued her dominating fundraising streak by collecting more than $36 million over the latest three-month disclosure period for her rematch against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“That’s nearly $9 million more than the Democrat raised during her entire 2018 campaign against Kemp, who narrowly defeated her four years ago and is now seeking a second term.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) “collected nearly $29 million over the latest fundraising period, amassing more campaign cash over a three-month period than he raised during his entire 2018 bid for Georgia’s top office,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

A new Monmouth poll in Georgia finds about half of voters say they will either definitely (34%) or probably (15%) vote to reelect Gov. Brian Kemp in November. A slightly smaller number will definitely (33%) or probably (12%) back Stacey Abrams. 

However, more Georgia voters have definitely ruled out voting for Abrams (46%) than say the same about Kemp (37%).

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) “is aiming for metro Atlanta’s suburbs with the help of another Republican leader who channeled angst over education policies into electoral energy in a politically competitive state: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The two Republicans will stump together on Sept. 27 in Alpharetta, marking one of the Georgia governor’s first campaign forays into the competitive suburban communities ringing Atlanta since he won the May primary.”

“Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp gets a lot of credit for resisting pressure from former President Donald Trump to ‘find the votes’ to flip the 2020 election results in his state,” The Bulwark reports.

“But that was then. Today, Kemp stands shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the state’s top election deniers. That man is his running mate, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, Burt Jones.”

“A long-simmering clash between two branches of Georgia government exploded into public view on Wednesday, when an attorney for Gov. Brian Kemp (R) moved to kill a subpoena seeking the Republican’s testimony before the Fulton County special grand jury studying potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Kemp’s lawyer acknowledged for the first time that a sworn video statement that the governor was scheduled to record late last month was cancelled.”

Cook Political Report: “Our ratings change doesn’t indicate that we don’t believe this race will be close. It most certainly will, and abortion could tighten it. But when we look at the overall environment boosting Republicans, the headwinds Democrats face, and Kemp’s continued strong numbers in Democratic and bipartisan polls, it has become clear that Kemp now holds an edge in the contest. As such, we are shifting our rating from Toss Up to Lean Republican.”

“Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, has raised $22 million during the past two months of her campaign, more than 3x the fundraising by her opponent, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp,” Axios reports.