HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TND) — Early voting has begun for Georgia’s 2022 primary elections with primary day just six days out.
From an unusually high-profile race for secretary of state — to a governor’s race where candidates disagree on who won elections in previous years — to a crowded Senate race with a former football legend as the frontrunner, the nation will be watching this primary in the pivotal swing state, which could be the most important bellwether in the U.S.
The results of this election will be a deciding factor in assessing former President Donald Trump’s “kingmaker” status, as he’s taken a special interest in the Peach State — where he lost in November 2020 but still falsely claims he won and the election was fraudulently stolen from him. He’s endorsed candidates in six races, many of which acknowledge he did not, in fact, win Georgia in 2020. Although it’s 2022, what’s really on the ballot is 2020.
GOVERNOR — REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp hopes to maintain his title, although he’s up against four other Republican candidates.
He was elected in 2018 and earned the endorsement of former Vice President Mike Pence this year. Kemp is essentially the face of the “anti-Trump” GOP crowd, as Trump has made Kemp his personal target in primaries this year for not helping him overturn the 2020 election results.
Kemp maintains Georgia’s elections were fair and without fraud. He’s well ahead in the polls according to RealClear Politics, which shows him with an average of a 22-percentage point lead over his competitors. Kemp boasts his record as governor for the past two years, citing the state of the economy after he cut taxes and signed laws banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates, abortion procedures after six weeks of pregnancy and “critical race theory.”
Kemp is up against former Sen. David Perdue, who is running for governor after being coaxed by Trump.
He doesn’t have the name recognition of his incumbent opponent but does have Trump’s endorsement up his sleeve.
He said the keywords at a recent debate, “The election in 2020 was rigged and stolen.”
Perdue spent six years in the Senate before he lost his seat last year. He used to be a fairly mainstream Republican and typically voted with his party. Now, his platform focuses on deeming Kemp “too liberal” to be governor and questioning the 2020 election. RealClear Politics has Perdue polling at an average of 32%, up against Kemp’s 54%.
GOVERNOR — DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Stacey Abrams is the sole candidate in the Democratic race for governor, and it’s not her first rodeo. She has name recognition from the 2018 election that’s also likely to impact the 2022 primaries since the second-time gubernatorial candidate still suggests she won the election in 2018 and beat Kemp.
Abrams said in a 2019 speech, “I did win my election. I just didn’t get to have the job.” Later on in April that year, she clarified, “and so in response to what I believe was a stolen election, and I’m not saying they stole it from me. They stole it from the voters of Georgia. I cannot prove empirically that I would’ve won, but we will never know.”
The race was tight, and Abrams only lost by fewer than 55,000 votes, roughly 1.4% of the total ballots cast. Building herself up to be a high-profile Democrat, Abrams runs on expanding Medicaid and health insurance coverage, fully funding education and prioritizing voting rights.
She’s widely credited with helping swing Georgia to the blue side with both Senate seats and the presidential count in 2020, the first Democrats to win the state for their respective races since the early 2000s. Yet, despite her efforts to keep that energy this year, she’s polling at an average of 44%, while her likely general election opponent Kemp is polling at nearly 50%.
SENATE — REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
The race for U.S. Senate has two clear frontrunners. On the Republican side, that’s former football star Herschel Walker, also Trump’s pick. Walker has no prior political experience, but has been a vocal Trump ally and campaigned on his behalf.
He also has the backing of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, along with other prominent Republicans. Walker is a cultural conservative who’s running on “putting Georgia and Georgians first.” However, concerns have been raised about his mental health. He writes on his website he has dissociative identity disorder, and part of his campaign is focused on mental health solutions.
Walker is accused of physical and verbal abuse against his ex-wife, and of stalking and threatening to kill a woman several years ago. He “emphatically denies” the allegations. Walker currently has nearly a 56-point lead over his opponents, polling at an average of 64%.
SENATE — DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Walker will likely go up against Sen. Raphael Warnock in the general election. He earned his hard-won Senate seat in a close runoff election in January 2021 with a margin of fewer than 100,000 votes.
Warnock is also a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. His main policy priorities include supporting criminal justice reform, expanding health care, improving the job market for groups left out of economic booms, expanding voting rights and pushing against abortion restrictions. Warnock has a 79-point lead against his one primary opponent, but Walker edges him out in the general by just 0.5 points.
SECRETARY OF STATE — REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
Probably the biggest twist in the 2022 primaries for the Peach State is the race for secretary of state, which is typically a lesser-known race, especially on a national level. This one is garnering national attention, once again, due to the 2020 election.
Incumbent Brad Raffensperger defends the 2020 presidential election and its results, which high-profile Republicans have both praised and criticized.
He won national name recognition for it, which could win him the seat again. Strategists say it was assumed his career would be over after the fiasco in 2020, but the fact Raffensperger stood tall explains why the race is now crucial. A poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows 28% of voters support him, while 26% support his opponent: Rep. Jody Hice.
Hice is harshly critical of the 2020 election and advances false narratives indicating it was fraudulent.
He’s also a vocal Trump ally, who obliged when Trump endorsed him to unseat Raffensperger. Hice has criticized Raffensperger’s role in the 2020 election as well. He doesn’t benefit from the name recognition his opponent does, which analysts say matters in a race further down on the ballot.
SECRETARY OF STATE — DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Polling from April suggests the crowded Democratic field in the race for secretary of state is leaving many loyal primary voters undecided.
But, the front-runner is State Rep. Bee Nguyen, who’s been endorsed by many Georgia Democrats and liberal groups.
Not too far behind her is Cobb County Democratic Party chairman Michael Owens, who was endorsed by a former governor. The polling indicated a majority of Georgians (60%) are undecided on their choice out of the field. Nguyen led at 12%, followed by Owens at 9%.
As Peach State voters determine the pulse of the U.S. — mainly, the nation’s thoughts on the 2020 presidential election — the rest of the country waits in earnest.
Early voting in this election set records a week out, with more than 400,000 voters already casting their ballots. This marks a 217% increase from the 2018 election and a 155% increase from the 2020 election. It’s expected to increase leading up to Tuesday, and Raffensperger’s chief operating officer tweeted out that he predicts the number of votes will surpass 700,000 by the time early voting closes Friday afternoon.