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Trump-Endorsed Candidate Wins Georgia's GOP Gubernatorial Primary

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  July 24, 2018 9:26 PM

UPDATE: Trump congratulated Kemp on his win.

ORIGINAL POST

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has defeated Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the state's gubernatorial GOP primary. He will proceed to face Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, who if she prevailed would become the state's first black female governor.

President Trump endorsed Kemp last week and reminded voters on Tuesday morning. 

The Cagle campaign suggested they had been blindsided.

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"We were told, obviously, that [Trump] was not going to endorse," Cagle said. "I'm still a supporter of the president. I think he's doing a good job in Washington and he's the right guy for the time. But again, this has nothing to do with Washington and has everything to do with Georgia."

Kemp had trailed Cagle early on. In the first round in May, Cagle won 40 percent of the vote, to Kemp's 25 percent. A few factors allowed Kemp to start gaining ground. Secret recordings surfaced of Cagle admitting to voting for a terrible private school scholarships to keep donations away from an opponent. When the Kemp campaign tried to paint him as crazy, Cagle embraced the term.

Kemp also benefitted from a couple of controversial but effective ads, including one in which he sat with a gun on his lap to intimidate his daughter's date. The young man took the hint and pledged his support for the Second Amendment.