ATLANTA — Georgia Republican David Perdue is furthering his embrace of debunked claims that Georgia’s 2020 presidential election was wrongly decided as he runs for governor. The gubernatorial candidate on Friday joined a lawsuit claiming fraudulent ballots were counted in Fulton County in the 2020 general election.
The suit amplifies claims the former senator has made this week since entering the 2022 Republican primary race for governor. Perdue formally announced his run for Georgia's top office on Monday, slamming opponents Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic hopeful Stacey Abrams.
Former President Donald Trump is backing Perdue in his challenge to incumbent Kemp, citing Kemp's failure to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss.
However in a statement from Perdue's camp, the former senator hasn't called to have the election overturned.
"This isn’t a new lawsuit, it has been going on for months. Perdue simply joined in to see if a candidate has legal standing to answer these questions as we get to the bottom of fraud in 2020 and make sure it never happens again. Perdue has never called to overturn an election, and this lawsuit doesn’t do that – it aims to fix problems," the campaign spokesperson said.
During his campaign announcement, Perdue criticized Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger saying they are to blame for the division.
Perdue promises to give his governor run everything he has after being forced out of Georgia's political make-up last year. The 71-year-old represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate for one term, from 2015 until his loss earlier this year in a runoff election to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
The Republican had originally considered a run again for Senate against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock next year. In February he asserted in an open letter that "Georgia is not a blue state" and that Democrats "do not fairly represent most Georgians."
The statement is echoed within the lawsuit. As the suit moves its way through the courts, GOP gubernatorial candidates are gearing up for a crowded and contentious primary election next year.
So far, five Republicans have announced their intent to run, including Democrat-turned-Republican Vernon Jones. Stacey Abrams is the only Democrat to announce her intent to run so far.
Though candidates have announced their intent to run for governor in 2022, they have to qualify under the state election laws. Qualifying begins for Georgia's primary elections March 7, 2022. The general primary election is May 24, 2022.