Governor Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November. That's a rematch from four years ago.
But yesterday wasn't all bad news for the former president. His pick for the U.S. Senate, former NFL player Herschel Walker, easily won the nomination. And controversial Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene won the backing of 70 percent of Republicans in her district.
Stephen Fowler is here for a closer look at the results. He's a political reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Stephen Fowler, welcome back to the "NewsHour."
So we see that some of former President Trump's endorses did well, others didn't. What does this say to you all — if you put it all together, about his influence among Georgia voters, and also, frankly, the strength of the big lie, that he actually won and Joe Biden didn't in 2020?
Judy Woodruff:
The results from Georgia's primary elections yesterday are the most high-profile rebuke of former President Donald Trump's chosen candidates so far this season.
Two Republican incumbents who both stood up for the 2020 election results survived primary challengers. Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom the former president once pleaded with to help find the votes to overturn the 2020 results, won his race. And Governor Brian Kemp easily beat former Senator David Perdue, with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Gov Kemp
Even in the middle of a tough primary, conservatives across our state didn't listen to the noise. They didn't get distracted. They knew our record of fighting and winning for hardworking Georgians.
Governor Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November. That's a rematch from four years ago.
But yesterday wasn't all bad news for the former president. His pick for the U.S. Senate, former NFL player Herschel Walker, easily won the nomination. And controversial Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene won the backing of 70 percent of Republicans in her district.
Stephen Fowler is here for a closer look at the results. He's a political reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Stephen Fowler, welcome back to the "NewsHour."
So we see that some of former President Trump's endorses did well, others didn't. What does this say to you all — if you put it all together, about his influence among Georgia voters, and also, frankly, the strength of the big lie, that he actually won and Joe Biden didn't in 2020?
Stephen Fowler, Georgia Public Broadcasting:
Well, Judy, I think there's a ceiling on just how far focusing on false claims about the 2020 election can get you as a Republican candidate.
We saw that with David Perdue struggling and Jody Hice struggling in the secretary of state's race. But the reason Trump's candidates lost as well is that you had two popular incumbents that have a long record with Georgia voters, that have a long conservative record.
For example, Brian Kemp flexed the power of his office in recent years to cut taxes for people and to pay teachers more and state employees more and to enact conservative policies around abortion and voting rights and firearms, and really didn't give Georgia voters that were Republicans much reason to go with somebody else.
Same with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who touted Georgia's election laws and record early voting turnout to say that he's the one that should be in charge.