ATLANTA, Georgia — Former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), who is backed by former President Donald Trump in his gubernatorial bid, holds a sizable lead early in his campaign over Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a poll from Trump’s pollster Tony Fabrizio provided exclusively to Breitbart News shows.
The headline of the polling memo—“Perdue Primed to Defeat Kemp”—says it all. “We found that incumbent Governor Brian Kemp has overstayed his welcome with the Republican electorate and a plurality back another candidate, chiefly David Perdue,” the polling memo states. “Furthermore, President Trump’s endorsement of Sen. Perdue serves to further solidify his advantage over Brian Kemp.”
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with Kemp, Perdue already leads 47 percent to 44 percent with 9 percent undecided.
When survey respondents are informed that Trump has endorsed Perdue, that lead skyrockets to a 22 percent advantage for Perdue—with Perdue at 56 percent and Kemp at just 34 percent and 10 percent undecided.
A hypothetical full ballot question where respondents are told of Trump’s endorsement of Perdue and where former Democrat state Sen. Vernon Jones—who switched parties and joined the GOP over Trump—as well other candidates Kandiss Taylor and Jonathan Garcia remain in the race, Perdue still leads Kemp by sizable double-digit margins. In that scenario, Perdue is at 46 percent and Kemp is at 32 percent—a 14 point lead for Perdue—while Jones is at 9 percent, Taylor at 2 percent, and Garcia at less than a percent while 11 percent are undecided.
The survey of 800 likely GOP primary voters was conducted by Trump’s pollster Fabrizio, Lee, and Associates for the Perdue for Governor campaign from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9 and has a margin of error of 3.46 percent.
FILE – In this April 3, 2021, file photo, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp listens to a question during a news conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
What’s more, the survey also asked respondents about their thoughts on the 2020 election in Georgia, and only 7 percent said they believed this statement: “Joe Biden won the election, which was fair with no fraud or irregularities.” Twenty-eight percent believed this statement: “While there is evidence of some fraud and irregularities, Joe Biden still won the election.” The vast majority, 63 percent, said they agreed with this statement: “The election was stolen from Donald Trump through widespread election fraud.” Only 1 percent said they didn’t know or refused to answer.
Perdue jumped in the race early last week, and almost immediately Trump endorsed him. Trump has feuded with Kemp since the election last year, arguing that the Georgia governor he backed in 2018’s election battle both in the primary and general was insufficiently loyal to him as the now former president challenged election results throughout Georgia.
Perdue, in an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel this weekend, bashed Kemp as someone who “gave away the election process to Stacey Abrams in 2020 and has lost confidence of our party, and I just don’t see any way that he can beat Stacey Abrams.”
FILE- In this May 22, 2018, file photo Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams waves in Atlanta. Abrams is trying to reach voters who don’t usually vote in midterm elections in the hopes to drive up turnout in her race against Republican Brian Kemp. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
Abrams, the 2018 Democrat nominee for governor who lost the election that year to Kemp but still has not conceded she lost, is running again in 2022. Whoever wins between Kemp and Perdue in the GOP primary will face Abrams in the general election in November.
Kemp, in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier, fired back at Perdue saying he “lost to a 33-year-old nobody” in now Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) who beat Perdue in the runoff earlier this year officially handing the U.S. Senate majority to the Democrats. “While David Perdue was at home playing golf for the last nine months, we passed the election integrity act,” Kemp added.