Kemp leads Perdue in Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary, poll

Former Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue is trailing in his effort to unseat incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, according to a new poll. 

The Quinnipiac University poll found 43% of likely GOP voters are behind their governor, while 36% prefer Perdue, who is backed by former President Trump.

Vernon Jones, a former Democrat and Georgia state lawmaker, has 10% of the likely vote, and all other candidates pulled single digits – with 5% remaining undecided.

Whoever wins the GOP primary will likely face former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams in the general election. Abrams, who ran and lost against Kemp in 2018, is currently the only Democrat in the race. 

Trump last month endorsed Perdue as an alternative to Kemp, with whom Trump has been publicly feuding since the 2020 election when Kemp stopped short of supporting Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the vote. 

In his endorsement for Perdue, Trump called Kemp a "very weak governor," adding that "RINOS" had "run all over him on Election Integrity, and more." 

The Kemp and Perdue campaigns have been hurling legal challenges at one another as the race heats up.

Perdue filed a suit targeting a law that allows an affiliated "leadership campaign" to raise money during the legislative session, delivering, in Perdue's estimation, an unfair advantage to the incumbent governor.

Kemp's campaign, meanwhile, filed an ethics complaint last week contesting what it believes to be the illegal campaign fundraising practices of Perdue's camp.