David Perdue Spars with Brian Kemp in Georgia Gubernatorial Debate

Republican Georgia gubernatorial candidates former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Gov. Brian Kemp faced off on Sunday, squabbling over election failures in 2020, as Perdue stated that the 2020 election was unequivocally “rigged and stolen.”

“First off, folks, let me be very clear tonight. The election in 2020 was rigged and stolen,” Perdue said at the start of the debate, blaming Kemp for caving and allowing Democrats to “steal our election.”

“All that started right here in Georgia when our governor caved and allowed radical Democrats to steal our election, and because of that, he has divided our party and cannot win,” Perdue continued, attempting to distinguish himself as a champion of election integrity, in contrast to Kemp, whom he blames for the current state of affairs in many respects, as Kemp ultimately certified the election despite former President Trump’s calls for action. Perdue asserted that Kemp did not use his position of power to fight back hard enough.

“I’ve always said there’s fraud in every election, and when I was secretary of state, I went after it,” Kemp said, clarifying that he “didn’t say there wasn’t problems in this election.”

“Look, I was as frustrated as anybody else,” Kemp said, contending that a special session would not have resolved the issue.

The debate got uglier, however, as Kemp took shots at Perdue for losing his Senate seat to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in the runoff election, resulting in Democrats gaining a majority in the Senate.

“I was secretary of state for eight years, and I don’t need to be lectured by someone who lost his last election,” Kemp said, touting himself as the only person who has defeated failed Democrat Georgia candidate Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor again.