ATLANTA — Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate David Perdue is firing back after Governor Brian Kemp's campaign made an ad showing Perdue making controversial comments on a talk show.
Perdue appeared on a talk show in March and criticized the way Kemp handled a state budget surplus.
"It's disgusting to me as a private citizen to see the governor throwing our taxpayer money as giveaways to teachers, in terms of pay raises to taxpayers in terms of a one time deal, in terms of a gas tax reduction," the former U.S. Senator said on the show.
The Kemp campaign ad said "David Perdue against teachers and taxpayers." Perdue is catching flack from former educators, who are now questioning his allegiance to teachers.
"It’s shocking to me," Dr. John Jackson, former superintendent of Jefferson City School, said. "For something as critical as public education, to question the advisability of teacher pay raises is something I just cannot get my arms around. If you don’t have good teachers who want to come into the business and stay, then you have a real issue ahead of you.”
In response to the attack ad, the Perdue campaign sent a statement to 11Alive, stating:
"This is another false attack from a Governor who is desperate to keep his job. As the son of two public school teachers, David Perdue fully supports pay raises for educators. The question is: why did it take Perdue getting in the race for Kemp to start doing what he said he would do? This Governor is trying to play election-year politics and buy votes with $250 checks that hit right before the primary and a gas tax break that ends right after the election. It's corrupt, it's wrong, and Perdue is going to keep calling out this type of disgusting politics. Georgians deserve a Governor who will do the right thing all the time, not just pretend at election time."
"The Perdue quote was a gaffe," Republican strategist Brian Robinson said. "There's no way around that, and Kemp's people seized on it and moved on it very quickly. It goes to show you how every word matters in a tightly contested primary like this, where the candidates aren’t going to disagree fundamentally on too many major issues of the day.”
Robinson said Kemp received a rare political gift in the form of a state budget surplus, and with it, Kemp has chosen to give pay raises to state employees and teachers, distribute tax refunds to Georgians and cut the state gas tax during the current price surge. Robinson said the timing is politically expedient for Kemp, who can enjoy the advantages of incumbency.
“When you are the incumbent governor, you get blamed for a lot of things that aren’t your fault," Robinson said. "But you also get credit for things that are just your good fortune, not your hard work.”
As for the road Perdue takes to recover from his appearance on the talk show, Robinson pointed to his ties to former president Donald Trump. Trump held a rally last month, touting false claims of election fraud. Perdue, U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and Secretary of State candidate Jody Hice were among those in attendance last Saturday.
“There is a portion of the Republic electorate that doesn’t think Brian Kemp did enough on the elections," Robinson said. "Those are the ones Perdue is targeting. The challenge is he has to get all of them to vote for him on that issue alone. That’s a tough hill to climb.”