Right vs. Right vs. Left: Governor’s Race Puts Georgia at the Center of 2022 Drama

Both Mr Walker and Mr Hice have echoed Mr Trump’s false claim that electoral fraud cost him the 2020 election.

And Mr. Perdue didn’t limit his own attack to Mr. Kemp. Republicans were divided in Georgia, he said, “and Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger are to blame.”

Trump’s influence, who has not ruled out another presidential run in 2024, will certainly be felt in other states’ mid-term races. But Mr Trump is particularly fixated on Georgia, a state he lost by less than 12,000 votes. He and some of his allies are under investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office for possible criminal violations after contacting state officials, including Mr. Kemp and Mr. Raffensperger, in an effort to alter the election results.

If Perdue and Walker lead the Republican ticket next fall, voters in Georgia will be forced to choose between distaste for Trump and his incendiary politics, and discontent with Biden, and unease with the liberal politics embodied by Mrs. Abrams and Mr. Warnock.

The drama will unfold in a state that, with its gaping divisions along the lines of race, class and region, is reflective of the nation and its partisan, polarized and increasingly toxic politics.

Georgia also reflects broader trends between the two national parties. Democrats are increasingly turning to more diverse candidates. But the candidates are still treading cautiously, as Ms. Abrams did in her launch video, trumpeting the idea of ​​”one Georgia” and pushing for unifying issues that could appeal to seasoned liberals and fickle suburbanites alike.

Some Democrats fear that Ms. Abrams, a veteran state legislator and campaigner for the right to vote, will face an uphill climb in the governor’s race given the challenges the party faces nationally: an unpopular president, inflation, Covid-19 and simmering concerns about violent crime. and how American history is taught in schools.