At a rally in Commerce, a small town northeast of Atlanta, Trump spent the first 20 minutes of his speech repeating lies about the result, calling Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican colleague, a “round coat” and a “coward” because he to overturn the Results. Trump has invested significant political capital in the state, supporting a number of candidates across the state in an effort to oust Kemp and his allies. The May 24 primary will provide perhaps the clearest assessment yet of Trump’s ability to play king in the 2022 election. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register It will also provide an early measure of how Republican candidates are trying to strike a balance between Trump’s obsession with the 2020 election and the preference of national Republican leaders to focus on President Joe Biden’s history in power. “This is a really difficult test for him – and a critical one,” said Alan Abramovich, a professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta. “Trump still likes Republican voters, but that does not necessarily mean that they will base their election support on his support.” Polls suggest Kemp maintains a comfortable lead over Trump’s preferred candidate, former Sen. David Perdio, despite Trump’s frequent criticisms of the current governor. In addition to Pardew, Trump has backed US spokeswoman Jodi Hayes, who is challenging Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger. Raffensperger rejected Trump’s demand to change the result and declared the 2020 election fair and accurate after a series of scrutiny and revisions. Trump has also endorsed candidates for attorney general, deputy governor and even insurance commissioner, in each case backing candidates who face officials he accuses of not fighting harder to substantiate his allegations of fraud. Biden defeated Georgia by less than a quarter of a percentage point, becoming the first Democrat to win the state in nearly 30 years. “What we’re starting to see is that his support so far does not seem to give the type of automatic bump to candidates we’ve seen before,” said Amy Steigerwalt, a political science professor at Georgia State University. A Perdue spokesman said his support would only increase as more voters became aware of Trump’s support. A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. TRUMP CONTINUES ELECTION FALSE Republicans are worried that a split could open the door for Democratic presidential nominee Stacey Abrams, a marginal rights activist who lost marginally to Kemp in 2018, to win the November rematch. Some Republicans already believe that Trump’s rhetoric after the November 2020 election helped cost the party the two re-election of the Senate in Georgia in January 2021, giving Democrats control of the House. Kemp’s campaign spokeswoman Tate Mitchell said: “Governor Kemp is focusing on gaining the approval of the Republicans of Georgia on May 24 and ensuring that Stacey Abrams will never be our governor.” Trump remains the party’s leading figure, and Republican candidates across the country continue to seek his support. However, he has made it clear that he expects his allies to commit to his false claim that Biden’s victory in 2020 was illegal, a claim that has been repeatedly refuted by courts, polling stations and election officials. Earlier this week, Trump canceled his support for U.S. Representative Mo Brooks for a Senate race in Alabama after Brooks told voters it was time to move on from the 2020 election. Perdue, who lost his seat in the Senate in 2020, echoed Trump’s claims during statements at Saturday’s rally, telling the crowd that both elections had been “stolen” and promising that those responsible would “go to jail.” ». Some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have urged the party to leave 2020 behind and focus on Biden’s performance. Historically, the occupying White House party lost seats in Congress during the first by-elections. Georgia Gov. Jeff Duncan, a non-re-elected Republican, has formed a group, GOP 2.0, to move the party beyond Trump. The organization released an ad this week attacking Trump and Perdi that they prefer to talk about “conspiracy theories and past losses” rather than offering a vision for the future. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Joseph Ax. Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Daniel Wallis Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
