Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp are headed to a July 24 runoff in the race to become the GOP nominee for Georgia governor, while Stacey Abrams made history in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Cagle and Abrams led from start to finish in Tuesday’s Georgia primary, but Cagle was unable to win a majority to avoid a runoff against Kemp.
Abrams becomes the first African-American woman to become a major party's nominee for governor, and now has two months to prepare for what will arguably be one nation’s most highly publicized governor’s race on Nov. 6. Expect her campaign to attract even more national attention than it already has, as she seeks to become nation’s first African-American female governor in history.
However, almost 90,000 more Republicans voted in Tuesday's primary than Democrats on Tuesday, meaning Abrams must energize her party to make a strong impact this November. Abrams also faces the challenge of attracting more moderate voters to her liberal, progressive base, but has longer to move toward that center than Cagle or Kemp.
Meanwhile, expect Cagle and Kemp to compete even harder for the party’s conservative base, which will be the deciding factor in the July 24 runoff. Kemp has ardently sought voting bloc with high-profile, controversial ads and headlines, while Cagle's support from the NRA has made national headlines.
Abrams was declared the winner of her primary at 9:34 pm, and took the stage to speak to supporters just before 10 pm.
Abrams wrapped up several national endorsements during the campaign’s final week, including from two political leaders who fought a bitter Democratic presidential campaign in 2016, Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also campaigned for Abrams.
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In the GOP, look for Cagle and Kemp to compete even harder for the party’s conservative base, which will be the deciding factor in the July 24 runoff.
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Kemp has ardently sought voting bloc with high-profile, controversial ads and headlines, while Cagle's support from the NRA has made national headlines.
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In other races:
Lieutenant governor: David Shafer led the GOP primary throughout the night, and with 94 percent of the vote reporting, had 49 percent of the vote to Geoff Duncan's 26 percent and Rick Jeffares 25 percent.
In the Democratic primary, Sarah Riggs Amico defeated Triana James.
Secretary of State: Republicans David Isle and Brad Raffensperger advances to a runoff to replace Brian Kemp. Democrat and former Georgia congressman John Barrow won the Democratic nomination with 52 percent of the vote.
