Former U.S. Sen.<\/u>\u00a0David Perdue is suing his top rival in the Republican primary for Georgia’s governor’s race, and\u00a0incumbent\u00a0Gov. Brian Kemp hit right back.<\/p>\n
Perdue, who\u00a0announced\u00a0his run last year with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, accused Kemp of\u00a0having stacked the fundraising deck by changing the campaign laws last year; yesterday Kemp filed an ethics complaint against Perdue\u00a0for illegal campaign coordination with a third-party PAC.<\/p>\n
Kemp’s ethics complaint argues<\/a> that the WinRed website of the Georgia Values Fund, an independent committee, violates state campaign financing laws by showing how to donate directly to Perdue’s campaign fund. The site also allegedly solicits cellphone numbers for Perdue’s campaign to send political push notifications. Both actions violate laws requiring\u00a0independent committees to refrain from coordinated campaigning, Kemp’s complaint argues.<\/p>\n It’s part and parcel of what is becoming a vicious political knife fight, fueled by spite, between two political leaders who would have been considered mainline business conservative Republicans four years ago.\u00a0The internal battle between conventional Republicans and the radical right has transformed into a bidding war for political war-fighting credentials.<\/p>\n\n \u201cMillionaire David Perdue built a career putting himself first. Searching for cheap labor, Perdue outsourced jobs to countries like China. He made a fortune for himself but left communities broken, families ruined.\u201d That\u2019s not an attack ad from a Democrat. That\u2019s from Kemp, taking potshots<\/a> at his new primary rival.<\/p>\n To\u00a0earn his Trumpist bonafides, Perdue joined a lawsuit questioning the 2020 general election results. Kemp, you may recall, resisted Trump\u2019s urging to swing Georgia\u2019s electoral votes his way. Kemp \u201ccost us two Senate seats, the Senate majority, and gave Joe Biden free rein,\u201d Perdue said in a video announcing his run<\/a>. He accused Kemp of colluding with Stacey Abrams \u2014 a prominent Georgia Democrat, voting rights activist, and fellow gubernatorial candidate \u2014 to give the presidential election to Biden. \u201cThink about how different things would be today if Kemp had fought Abrams first instead of fighting Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m running for Governor to make sure Stacey Abrams is NEVER Governor of Georgia. We need bold conservatives who will stand up to the woke left, not cave to their radical demands. Join me in this fight to Stop Stacey and Save Georgia. pic.twitter.com\/iQMMV97ynw<\/a><\/p>\n — David Perdue (@DavidPerdueGA) December 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nThe Perdue campaign’s lawsuit<\/a>, filed earlier this month, suggests that the changes to campaign finance\u00a0laws last year are “unconstitutional and corrupt.” The new law allows Kemp to sidestep a Georgia\u00a0rule barring elected officials from raising money while the legislature is in session. “Using his power as the incumbent Governor, Kemp changed Georgia law in an attempt to rig this race in his favor,” Perdue’s campaign said in a statement. “He gave himself a massive fundraising advantage and is able to fully coordinate with his so-called leadership committee that he chairs, while challengers like Perdue play by different rules.”<\/p>\n
\n\n