COMMERCE, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump was in Georgia to throw his support behind gubernatorial candidate David Perdue and other Republicans running in the May primary election.
“I happen to think that Georgia is a very red state. It’s red as hell," former President Donald Trump said.
Trump's distaste for incumbent Governor Brian Kemp has been no secret after Kemp resisted Trump's pressure to overturn election results in the Peach State. Kemp later responded to the former president's comments.
Speakers started delivering remarks at 4 p.m. at the Banks County Dragway where a crowd of people gathered for the 'Save America' rally.
"This is my ninth rally," Susan Beers said.
"My grandson is with me. I wanted him to experience what it was like to go to a political rally and start to learn more about how our government functions," Deborah Seale said.
The gubernatorial race is now coming into more focus with Trump arriving in Commerce to endorse Perdue in person.
Some people are wondering why Trump is endorsing the former Georgia senator for governor in the Republican primary.
"President Trump is still very upset that Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger didn't try to decertify the election results. It seems as though he blames them for his election loss in Georgia, so he is endorsing people who have clearly sided with him and against Kemp," said Andra Gillespie, 11Alive political analyst.
Gillespie said it makes sense to have the rally in Commerce since Trump won Banks County during the 2020 presidential election with 89% of the vote, and the county is heavily Republican.
"This is a very, very friendly county to Trump, and it's going to be a very friendly county for Republican candidates who are going to be running for office," Gillespie said. "It makes far more sense to hold it there than to hold it in Atlanta or Savannah, which are clearly democratic areas.”
Gillespie said she's not sure what impact Trump's endorsement will have.
"The big question is whether or not Brian Kemp is really that weak," Gillespie said. "He has incumbency. He's got strong support despite what Donald Trump says. He's not a Republican in name only."
"One thing that limits Trump's rhetoric and its effectiveness in this rally on Saturday is that voters in Georgia know Brian Kemp. They've already formed their opinions of him," GOP strategist Brian Robinson said.