{UAH} THIS HAS JUST COME IN ABOUT TEN MINUTES AGO. Thank you Georgia

Trump-backed candidate wins Georgia governor nomination

BY REID WILSON - 07/24/18 08:39 PM EDT 0

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© Kemp for Governor

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) completed his surprise comeback on Tuesday, claiming the Republican nomination for governor after winning late endorsements from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Kemp, serving his second term as secretary of State, bested Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) in a low-turnout runoff two months after Cagle finished first in the primary, the Associated Press reported.

With 36 percent of the vote reporting, Kemp had taken 69 percent. Cagle finished with 32 percent.

The results are a reversal from the May 22 primary, when Cagle finished first with 39 percent of the vote. Kemp, less well-known and funded, took about 26 percent of the vote in the primary, while four others split the remainder.

Kemp will now face Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, a former minority leader in the Georgia statehouse and the first African-American woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor.

Cagle, who had support from term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and the National Rifle Association, appeared headed for the nomination early on, even as polls during the runoff showed Kemp closing the gap.

But days before voters headed to the polls, President Trump offered Kemp an unexpected endorsement on Twitter. 

“Brian Kemp is running for Governor of the great state of Georgia. The Primary is on Tuesday. Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration,” Trump wrote last week. “He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment. I give him my full and total endorsement.”

Over the weekend, Pence campaigned with Kemp at a rally in Macon.

The endorsement, seemingly out of left field, had Republican officials scratching their heads.

Trump apparently arrived at his decision to back Kemp after talking with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, himself a former Georgia governor, some of these officials said. Others pointed to Nick Ayers, Pence’s chief of staff, a long-time political operative from Georgia who briefly considered running for governor himself. Ayers has denied involvement in Trump’s endorsement.

EM         -> { Trump for 2020 }

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