Former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) has filed to challenge Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) for U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2022, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Perdue, a 71-year-old businessman who previously served one term as a Georgia senator, lost his bid for reelection in January in a high-profile runoff race against now-Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA). Perdue’s paperwork indicates he is now formally considering running as a Republican primary candidate in 2022, this time to unseat Warnock who is up for reelection as he finishes out the term of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA).
Last year, Perdue had edged out Ossoff by 1.8 percent, or about 88,000 votes, in the November 3 general election, but the Georgia Republican was forced into a runoff after just barely missing the 50 percent mark, by 0.3 percent, that was needed to win outright.
In the subsequent runoff, Perdue lost to Ossoff by a slim margin of 55,000 votes, or 1.2 percent, out of 4.5 million votes cast.
Other contenders being floated for the Republican primary include former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), who narrowly lost to Warnock in Georgia’s other January runoff election by about 93,000 votes out of the 4.5 million, and former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA). Collins, who competed last year in the state’s jungle primary for Senate, finished that race in a strong third place with 20 percent of the vote to Loeffler’s 26 percent and Warnock’s 33 percent.
Perdue’s filing means the field for next year’s race is “essentially frozen,” as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, until Perdue confirms that he will pursue the Senate bid. A Perdue adviser informed the outlet that the Georgia Republican is “leaning heavily toward” running again and will decide for certain by March 1.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com.