ATLANTA – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp kicked off a statewide fly-around tour Monday with most of the statewide GOP ticket behind him at a celebratory press conference. The most notable figure missing: Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker.
As he has for months, Kemp blasted Democrat Stacey Abrams’ economic stance and trumpeted his decision to lift restrictions in the opening months of the coronavirus pandemic. He urged his supporters not to buy into polls that show him with a hefty advantage.
“I’m not worried about any polls and I don’t think anyone else is either. We are working like there is no tomorrow, even though there is,” Kemp said, adding: “We’ll let the final poll be Tuesday, Nov. 8 – which is tomorrow. We’ll let Georgians be the final poll.”
Kemp was pressed on Walker’s absence from the daylong trip, which ends with separate rallies a few miles from each other in Cobb County. Kemp and statewide contenders will hold their event at a local airport, while Walker and several big-name supporters will be at a nearby shooting range.
The governor said Walker is “definitely part of the team” before swiping at U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
“I don’t think people should read anything into that. We’re dividing and conquering. The other question would be: Why isn’t Raphael Warnock campaigning with Joe Biden?”
State schools superintendent Richard Woods also wasn’t part of the tour.
With polls showing a neck-and-neck race, Warnock has tried to appeal to swing voters by distancing himself from President Joe Biden.
Kemp’s feistiest moment came when a reporter asked him if he needs “to restore the public’s trust in the vote-counting process?”
“Do I? That would be a great question for Stacey Abrams. She’s the one who has been destroying trust in the voting system for 10 years, and she’s profited personally from that. And she’s cost Georgia taxpayers $6 million and counting in legal fees to defend their bogus lawsuit.”
He was referring to the failed legal challenge brought by Fair Fight Action, the voting rights group that Abrams founded.
____
