Trump to hold fundraiser, rally for Georgia governor candidate Perdue

Former President Trump is aiming to boost former Sen. David Perdue’s (R-Ga.) primary bid against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) with a fundraiser and at least one rally.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Trump will host a fundraiser for Perdue at Mar-a-Lago on March 16. Attendance at the reception will cost $3,000 per person, and a donation of $24,200 will get attendees a photo with Trump and Perdue. 

The source also confirmed that Trump will hold at least one campaign rally with Perdue in Georgia before the May 24 Republican primary and that other Trump family members will campaign for Perdue as well.

The support could be much needed for Perdue, who launched his challenge to Kemp in December but has since found himself on his back foot in both fundraising and polling.

Kemp, who won office in 2018, raised more than $7.4 million between July 1 and Jan. 31 and has more than $12.7 million in the bank. Perdue, who only entered the race in early December, raised $1.1 million by Jan. 31, his campaign said in a statement. Perdue’s campaign did not say at the time how much money it has in the bank. 

In a Quinnipiac University poll released in late January, Kemp also has a 7-point lead over Perdue among likely primary voters.

Besides tapping into Trump’s fundraising prowess, Perdue’s fundraising gap could be narrowed after a federal judge issued an order barring Kemp from spending money from a special leadership committee during the primary.

Such bodies, created through a 2020 bill signed into law by Kemp, allow the governor and legislative leaders to raise unlimited amounts of money, including during a legislative session, when incumbents are prohibited from collecting money for their personal campaign accounts. Perdue had sued, alleging the law gave Kemp an unfair advantage. 

Trump is expected to make the primary a priority in his involvement in the 2022 election cycle after Kemp rebuffed the former president’s attempts to overturn now-President Biden’s victory in Georgia in 2020.

Trump has come out strongly for Perdue, endorsing him in December and appearing in a direct-to-camera ad boosting him earlier this month. 

In a sign of how contentious the primary will be, the Republican Governors Association earlier this month rolled out a $500,000 pro-Kemp ad. The clip marked the first time the group has ever financed a TV ad in a primary to support an incumbent facing a Republican challenger.