“A former Democratic state legislator who switched parties after he endorsed Donald Trump is set to launch an insurgent challenge Friday against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, setting the stage for a race that will test the former president’s influence in Georgia,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

“Vernon Jones aims to tap into GOP anger at Kemp for resisting Trump’s demands to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia in November, though his long record as an elected Democratic official seems certain to complicate his bid to win over Republican voters.”

Kemp was always going to have a tough re-election race, especially if Stacey Abrams runs again. This will only make it harder.

New York Times: “Since signing the bill into law on March 25, Mr. Kemp has done roughly 50 interviews, 14 with Fox News, promoting the new restrictions with messaging that aligns with Mr. Trump’s baseless claims that the election was rigged against him.”

“A political reversal of fortune would represent an unlikely turnaround for Mr. Kemp, making him the most prominent Republican to find a way to overcome Mr. Trump’s campaign of retribution, and perhaps providing an early test of the former president’s ability to impose his will on the party’s electoral future.”

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) is not expected to run for re-election.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “It aims to build a national fundraising infrastructure, mobilize conservative supporters, air anti-Abrams ads and promote media narratives targeting the Democrat ahead of her expected campaign against Kemp.”

“Bristling at his defeat in Georgia, President Trump increasingly believes that Gov. Brian Kemp has not done enough to deliver him a victory or challenge the state’s election results. Now, sources close to the president—and Republicans in Georgia—say it is a foregone conclusion that Trump will help stand up a primary challenger to Kemp when the Republican is up for re-election in 2022,” the Daily Beast reports.

Said one Trump adviser: “It’s a fait accompli.”

President Trump, while speaking at a campaign rally to gin up support for Georgia Republican senators on Saturday, floated a potential 2022 gubernatorial run by Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to challenge Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “I want to thank Doug Collins. Thank you, Doug. What a job he does. Doug, you want to run for governor in two years?”

“Stacey Abrams’ political future is the subject of intense speculation after she helped turn Georgia blue for President-elect Joe Biden,” the Daily Beast reports.

“With more work on the horizon, three Democrats with knowledge of the former state house minority leader’s aspirations tell the Daily Beast that they expect her to run for governor in 2022.”

Stacey Abrams (D) ended her run for Georgia governor as the state prepared to certify the election, but she said she would not concede the contest to Brian Kemp (R), the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Saying the law “allows no further viable remedy” for her bid for governor against Kemp, Abrams announced a new voting rights group that will file “major” litigation against the state over electoral issues.

Abrams laced her speech with critiques of Kemp, a former secretary of state who she said was “deliberate and intentional in his actions” to suppress the vote.

“A federal judge has ruled that Georgia counties must count absentee ballots even if the voter’s date of birth is incorrect or missing, and he is preventing the state from finalizing election results until that happens,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Although U.S. District Judge Steve Jones agreed with the Georgia Democratic Party and Stacey Abrams’ campaign on this issue, he ruled against them on two others. He will not require counties to accept absentee ballots with incorrect residence addresses or to accept provisional ballots cast by people who attempted to vote in a different county than where they are registered to vote.”

Hillary Clinton said that Stacey Abrams (D) would already have won Georgia’s governor race if there had been a fair election, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Said Clinton: “If she had a fair election, she already would have won.”

“A federal judge on Monday ordered election officials to review thousands of provisional ballots that haven’t been counted in Georgia’s close election for governor,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The court decision comes as votes are still being counted in the race for governor between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp. Abrams trails Kemp and would need to gain more than 20,000 additional votes to force a runoff election.”

Georgia Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden told county election officials to count absentee ballots even if they lack a voter’s date of birth, as long as the voter’s identity can be verified, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Brian Kemp (R) holds the lead over Stacey Abrams (D) in the race to become Georgia’s governor. Abrams would need to gain more than 20,000 votes to force the race into a runoff.