Trump returns to Georgia confronting test of his grip on GOP
Associated PressCOMMERCE, Ga. — In Donald Trump’s push to fundamentally reshape the Republican Party, few places are a higher priority than Georgia. Trump returned to Georgia on Saturday night for a rally ahead of the state’s May 24 primary to try to boost Perdue in a campaign that is emerging as an early, critical test of whether the former president can live up to his professed role as a kingmaker in the GOP. In remarks before Trump’s arrival at the rally in Commerce in northeast Georgia, Perdue unveiled a series of sharper attacks on Kemp as he parroted Trump’s election lies, declaring that “our elections in 2020 were absolutely stolen.” He accused Kemp of having “sold out” Georgia voters through a series of actions including refusing to call a special state legislative session before Jan. 6 to investigate or overturn the election. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said the election was fair, and the former president’s allegations were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. Duncan, a Republican, said Trump’s endorsement isn’t the “golden ticket” it once was, and his group is launching its first 30-second television spot timed to coincide with the former president’s rally.