Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) made some harsh comments to the Gwinnett Daily Post about her home state that Republicans quickly jumped to exploit.

Said Abrams: “I am tired of hearing about how we’re the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live.”

She added: “Let me contextualize. When you’re No. 48 for mental health, when we’re No. 1 for maternal mortality, when you have an incarceration rate that is on the rise and wages are on the decline, then you are not the No. 1 place to live.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Though she quickly clarified that she meant she wanted to diversify the economy, Republican Brian Kemp and his allies leveraged the misstep to energize rural voters.”

Days after Stacey Abrams (D) qualified to run for governor in March, a super PAC funded by billionaire megadonor George Soros put $1 million into her campaign, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Georgia’s Republican primary for governor has revolved around Donald Trump’s attempts to oust Gov. Brian Kemp (R) over Kemp’s refusal to break election laws in the aftermath of the 2020 election,” the Daily Beast reports.

“But last week, third-place candidate Kandiss Taylor (R) tried to inject an issue of her own into the race, introducing a plan to blow up four giant granite tablets in northeast Georgia she sees as symbols of Satan worship.”

 A new ARW Strategies poll in Georgia finds Gov. Brian Kemp (R) way ahead of challenger David Perdue (R) in the GOP gubernatorial primary, 59% to 22%.

How long before Donald Trump tries to un-endorse Perdue?

A new SurveyUSA poll in Georgia finds Gov. Brian Kemp (R) with a 25-point edge on David Perdue (R) in the Republican gubernatorial primary, 56% to 31%.

In a possible general election match up, Kemp leads Stacey Abrams (D), 50% to 45%.

A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in Georgia finds Gov. Brian Kemp (R) with a big lead over his Donald Trump-backed challenger, David Perdue (R), in the Republican primary, 53% to 27%.
 
That would put the governor above the majority-vote threshold needed to avoid a June runoff. Other challengers were in the single digits; an additional 15% were undecided.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: “The first 23 minutes of the debate revolved around Perdue’s efforts to blame Kemp for Donald Trump’s loss in 2020 and the senator’s defeat in 2021.”

“Time and again, Perdue brought up the same false allegations that Donald Trump has pushed for more than a year about the ‘consent decree,’ ‘special session’ and GBI investigations – needling Kemp to the point where the two devolved into a shouting match.”

“Many of Perdue’s allegations were flat-out false.”

Perdue’s opening statement is actually pretty incredible.

A new Landmark Communications survey in Georgia finds Gov. Brian Kemp (R) leading the Republican gubernatorial primary with 52%, followed by David Perdue at 28%, and Kandiss Taylor at 10%.

Said pollster Mark Rountree: “Sen. Perdue’s job here is not necessarily winning a majority on election day, his job is to throw it to a runoff, and then it becomes a lot harder for an incumbent to win.”

“Former President Donald Trump’s political operation is plowing cash into Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary — his organization’s first major financial investment in a midterm race and an indication that he’s willing to dig into his massive war chest to defeat his foes,” Politico reports.

“Those close to Trump’s political apparatus describe it as an initial cash infusion ahead of the May 24 primary, which pits Kemp against Trump-endorsed former Sen. David Perdue.”

A new internal poll for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) shows the incumbent extending his lead over primary challenger David Perdue (R), 49% to 33% with 12% undecided.

Perhaps even more interesting is that 87% of GOP voters know about Donald Trump’s endorsement of Perdue and are still voting accordingly.

CNN: “Trump’s relatively lonely mission to defeat Kemp reveals how the former President’s priorities can often be out of step with those of Republicans who are actually on the ballot in 2022. The series of upcoming GOP primaries in May may be a mixed bag for Trump. And his overall record in the 2022 midterms will depend on an untested premise: Do Republican primary voters remain aligned with Trump?”

“None of Trump’s preferred candidates in three of the highest-profile statewide races in Georgia — Herschel Walker for US Senate, Burt Jones for lieutenant governor and Jody Hice for secretary of state — have endorsed Perdue. And in their remarks at a Trump rally in Georgia on Saturday, none of them mentioned the gubernatorial primary.”

David Perdue (R) said he “misunderstood” the Donald Trump supporters who chanted about imprisoning Gov. Brian Kemp (R) when he smiled and flashed them a thumbs-up sign at the former president’s rally, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

New York Times: “Her first days on the campaign trail have been spent largely in small, rural towns like Cuthbert, where she is more interested in discussing Medicaid expansion and aid to small businesses than the flagship issue that helped catapult her to national fame.”

“Ms. Abrams’s strategy amounts to a major bet that her campaign can survive a bleak election year for Democrats by capitalizing on Georgia’s fast-changing demographics and winning over on-the-fence voters who want their governor to largely stay above the fray of national political battles.”

“During his two Senate campaigns, Republican David Perdue had little trouble raking in millions in campaign cash. But as he tries to unseat Georgia’s incumbent governor, fellow Republican Brian Kemp, Perdue is struggling to attract donors,” the AP reports.

“Perdue’s top 30 individual contributors pumped in nearly $450,000 to his Senate campaigns in 2014 and 2020, according to campaign finance disclosures. But that same group and their immediate family members have steered just $26,200 to his current run for governor. Kemp, meanwhile, has raised $81,450 from these previous Perdue backers.”

“Perdue’s difficulty winning back previous donors suggests a broader challenge for him ahead of Georgia’s May 24 primary, which is being closely watched for signals about the direction of the national Republican Party.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) “is some timely reinforcements from one of his most powerful supporters,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“For the first time in its history, the Republican Governors Association is financing a TV ad during a party primary to support an incumbent facing a GOP challenger. The group unveiled a pro-Kemp ad Wednesday – and put more than $500,000 behind it.”

“Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue (R) rolled out a campaign video on Monday hitting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams over a photo showing her maskless in front of a group of masked school children,” The Hill reports.

Said Perdue: “This is the Georgia Stacey Abrams wants.”

He adds: “This is the reality Brian Kemp has allowed. Unmask our kids.” 

Stacey Abrams (D) raised more than $9.2 million since entering the race for Georgia governor in December, setting a blistering fundraising pace that eclipsed Gov. Brian Kemp (R), the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Donald Trump stars in a new 30-second ad for Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue (R) in which the former president excoriates Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for not intervening to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia, the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “The Democrats walked all over Brian Kemp. He was afraid of Stacey ‘The Hoax’ Abrams. Brian Kemp let us down. We can’t let it happen again.”