David Perdue was a member of the United States Senate until earlier this year. He lost his seat from the State of Georgia. After briefly looking like he would make a play for Georgia's other Senate seat, he changed course.
Brian Kemp was elected governor of Georgia in 2018. At that time, with the endorsement of then-U.S. President Donald Trump. But that changed following Trump's loss in Georgia, and the presidential election as a whole, in 2020. Kemp, along with other state Republican elected officials, refused to back up Trump's unfounded claims of voter fraud.
Trump quickly turned against Kemp and a door has opened to a potentially vigorous 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election cycle.
Perdue reportedly laying the groundwork to challenge Kemp in primary
David Perdue is considering becoming a candidate for governor of Georgia, according to WSB-TV. If he enters the Republican primary, he would be directly running against incumbent Brian Kemp.
Perdue would probably receive Trump's endorsement if officially enters the race, as noted by The Hill. A number of Trump's allies have already endorsed a different candidate in the Republican primary. That being former State Representative Vernon Jones. Who was, until as recently as last year, a Democrat.
Before going into politics, Perdue was a high-ranking business executive.
His father, David Sr., was a Democratic elected official in Houston County, near Macon. After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology, he joined the management consulting firm Kurt Salmon. A number of positions with other companies would ensue. Including senior vice president for Asia operations with the Sara Lee Corporation.
Followed by senior vice president of operations with Haggar Clothing.
Eventually, Perdue took on a similar position with Reebook. With the company, he would rise to become its president and CEO. Later, he also became the CEO of Pillowtex Corporation, followed by Dollar General.
After leaving Dollar General, Perdue took on a variety of other business pursuits.
He was also appointed to the Georgia Ports Authority director by then-Governor Sonny Perdue, his first cousin. Sonny Perdue would later become U.S. secretary of agriculture in the Trump administration.
David Perdue was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He was defeated for re-election in a 2021 runoff by documentarian Jon Ossof, a Democrat.
Kemp's career path includes a now-ironic twist
Brian Kemp's first elected office was as a member of the Georgia State Senate. In 2006, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination to be Georgia's agriculture commissioner. He lost to eventual general election winner Gary Black.
In 2010, Kemp was appointed as Georgia's secretary of state by David Perdue's cousin, Sonny.
Kemp was later elected in his own right later that year and again in 2014.
Four years later, Kemp won the governorship. Though the win was not without controversy. As secretary of state, Kemp's job description included overseeing elections. He did not resign or recuse himself from matters regarding the gubernatorial election. Leading to speculation about conflicts of interest, along with accusations of voter suppression.
