Georgia governor waves off Trump’s calls to primary him

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he was unconcerned about the potential political fallout from President Trump’s attacks on him for refusing to help overturn the results of the presidential election.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, Kemp said his top priority was the upcoming Jan. 5 Senate runoff election, in which Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) will defend their seats. The outcomes will determine control of the Senate.

“As far as me getting primaried, I could care less about that right now,” Kemp said. “The biggest thing we all need to do, regardless of what you think about what’s going on in Georgia, we’ve got to support David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.”

.@GovKemp: “As far as me getting primary-ed, I could care less about that right now. The biggest thing we all need to do, regardless of what you think about what’s going on in Georgia, we’ve got to support David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.” #gapol #gasen https://t.co/YRSoh3dW0E

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) December 23, 2020

Trump has repeatedly singled out both Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) after they declined to join his efforts to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the Peach State.

Trump has said he’s “ashamed” he endorsed Kemp in 2018 and retweeted a post from attorney Lin Wood saying Kemp and Raffensperger would “soon be going to jail.”

There is no reason to think either Republican will face legal problems because of their actions regarding the election, and no evidence of widespread fraud has emerged in the state’s election.

The president has actively encouraged primary challenges to Kemp since the election, asking Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) if he wanted to “run for governor” at a rally earlier this month.

Some Republicans have raised alarms that the president’s attacks on fellow Republicans in Georgia could depress GOP turnout in the runoffs. Trump announced Sunday he will campaign for Loeffler and Perdue the day before the runoffs, “as badly as we were treated in Georgia by the ‘Republican’ Governor and ‘Republican’ Secretary of State.”