Posted on 07/24/2018 6:01:14 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) completed his surprise comeback on Tuesday, claiming the Republican nomination for governor after winning late endorsements from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Kemp, serving his second term as secretary of State, bested Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) in a low-turnout runoff two months after Cagle finished first in the primary, the Associated Press reported.
Cagle called Kemp to concede the race about an hour-and-a-half after polls closed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
In the end, the contest wasn't even close. With 36 percent of the vote reporting, Kemp had taken 69 percent. Cagle finished with 32 percent.
The results are a reversal from the May 22 primary, when Cagle finished first with 39 percent of the vote. Kemp, less well-known and funded, took about 26 percent of the vote in the primary, while four others split the remainder.
Kemp will now face Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, a former minority leader in the Georgia statehouse and the first African-American woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor.
Cagle, who had support from term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and the National Rifle Association, appeared headed for the nomination early on, even as polls during the runoff showed Kemp closing the gap.
But days before voters headed to the polls, President Trump offered Kemp an unexpected endorsement on Twitter.
“Brian Kemp is running for Governor of the great state of Georgia. The Primary is on Tuesday. Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration,” Trump wrote last week. “He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment. I give him my full and total endorsement.”
Over the weekend, Pence campaigned with Kemp at a rally in Macon.
The endorsement, seemingly out of left field, had Republican officials scratching their heads.
Trump apparently arrived at his decision to back Kemp after talking with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, himself a former Georgia governor, some of these officials said. Others pointed to Nick Ayers, Pence’s chief of staff, a long-time political operative from Georgia who briefly considered running for governor himself. Ayers has denied involvement in Trump’s endorsement.
Great Ad. Unapologetic 100% for Georgians.
Cagle deserved to get his @SS kicked.
He and his people were just plain nasty.
It was a pleasure to vote for Kemp.
Same problem you all had with Cruz and Obama.
Kemp seems more likely to get in the face of the liberal Democrat in the fall campaign; Cagle, less confrontational and would not give some Republicans an excuse to vote.
President Trump's endorsement was a smackdown of the duplicitous LtGov Cagle, who as president of the senate had stabbed Conservative senators in the back. Cagle recently alleged that Kemp had "campaigned with John Kasich" in the 2016 primary, when in fact Secretary of State Kemp rightly declined to endorse anyone since he was responsible for conducting and certifying the election. Even worse, Cagle claimed to have been Trump's man despite his own official endorsement of Jeb Bush.
FReepers should note that Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp spearheaded the 2016 "SEC Primary" in which seven Southern (i.e. Conservative) states held their primaries on March 1. This bold move angered the national GOP because it checked the earlier practice of scheduling liberal northern primaries early so RINO candidates could build early leads. The SEC primary was a key to Trump's sweeping victory, and the president remembered.
President Pompeo - yes, he’s another white male but I’m good with it.
If Kemp wins 70 to 30 that will be FIFTY THREE point turn around! Trump asks people to vote with him and they do bigly!
The one that succumbed to pressure and took down the Confederate battle flags from the SC House? The one that was a Never Trumper until it was safe not to be? No, thank you.
2 take aways
1. Cagle only won 2 small counties.
2. Cagle lost in his home county - Hall County
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