Kemp trouncing Perdue in gubernatorial campaign fundraising

Gov. Brian Kemp is dominating gubernatorial fundraising fewer than four months before the May 24 Republican primary. Kemp has raised $19.3 million toward his reelection bid on his own and another $2.3 million through Georgians First, a leadership committee made possible through controversial legislation the General Assembly passed last year.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who entered the race for the Republican nomination last month, has raised just $1.1 million, The Hill, a Washington, D.C. publication that covers Capitol Hill, reported Tuesday.

Perdue's initial campaign fundraising report was not on file on the Georgia Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission's website as of Tuesday.

Democrat Stacey Abrams, who lost to Kemp four years ago and is seeking her party's gubernatorial nomination unopposed this year, has raised $9.3 million, according to a report her campaign filed with the state. Kemp reported $13.3 million cash on hand as of Jan. 31, including both his campaign and Georgians First. Abrams listed $7.2 million in her campaign war chest, also as of the end of last month. Neither educator Kandiss Taylor nor human resources executive Catherine Davis, Republican candidates for governor, had filed any campaign finance reports with the state as of Tuesday. While Perdue trails far behind Kemp in fundraising, the ex-senator is counting on former President Donald Trump's endorsement to build momentum for his candidacy.

Trump, who supported Kemp in the 2018 Republican primary, was angered by Kemp's refusal to go along with his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The Perdue campaign also got good news on Monday when a federal judge ruled that Kemp can't use any of the funds raised by his leadership committee to help win the Republican nomination. A lawsuit filed by Perdue claimed the 2021 law gave Kemp an unfair advantage in that only the incumbent governor could raise money during the primary race through a leadership committee.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.