2022 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election will take place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Governor of Georgia.

Incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp is eligible to seek a second term in office; he has announced that he will run for re-election. There was wide-spread speculation that he may face a primary challenge after receiving criticism from Donald Trump for refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.^[1]^[2] On April 16, 2021, former Democratic turned Republican state representative Vernon Jones declared his intention to challenge Kemp in the primary.^[3]

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

Jonathan Garcia, activist^[4]^[5]
Vernon Jones, former Democratic turned Republican state representative (1993–2001; 2017–2021) and CEO of DeKalb County (2001–2009)^[3]
Brian Kemp, incumbent governor^[5]^[6]
Kandiss Taylor, educator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2020^[7]

Potential[]

Ames Barnett, businessman and former mayor of Washington^[8]^[9]
David Perdue, former U.S. Senator (2015–2021)^[10]

Declined[]

Doug Collins, former U.S. Representative for Georgia's 9th congressional district and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2020^[1]^[11]
Herschel Walker, former American football player (running for U.S. Senate)^[12]

Endorsements[]

hide

Vernon Jones

Executive Branch Officials

Michael Flynn, 25th United States National Security Advisor (2017)^[13]

Local officials

Rudy Giuliani, 107th Mayor of New York City (1994–2001) and 3rd United States Associate Attorney General (1981–1983) ^[14]
Bernard Kerik, 40th Commissioner of the New York Police Department (2000–2001)^[15]
Wendy Rogers, Member of the Arizona Senate from the 6th district (2021-present)^[16]

Individuals

Travis Tritt, American country music singer, songwriter, and actor^[17]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Jonathan Garcia	Brian Kemp	Vernon Jones	David Perdue	Kandiss Taylor	Undecided
The Trafalgar Group (R)	September 2–4, 2021	1,076 (LV)	± 3.0%	1%	48%	25%	–	7%	19%
Fabrizio Lee (R)^[A]	August 11–12, 2021	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	<1%	41%	19%	16%	3%	20%
Fabrizio Lee (R)^[A]	August 11–12, 2021	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	–	46%	–	40%	–	14%

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Publicly expressed interest[]

Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight Action, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018^[18]^[19]

Potential[]

John Barrow, former U.S. Representative and nominee for Georgia Secretary of State in 2018^[20]
Van Johnson, mayor of Savannah^[20]
Mike Thurmond, DeKalb County CEO and former state representative^[20]

Declined[]

Kasim Reed, former Mayor of Atlanta (running for mayor)^[21]^[22]

Libertarian primary[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

Shane T. Hazel, radio host, Republican candidate for Georgia's 7th congressional district in 2018, and Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020^[23]^[24]

Independent Candidates[]

Candidates[]

Filed paperwork[]

Al Bartell, businessman, former Republican candidate, and Air Force veteran^[25]

General election[]

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[26]	Lean R	September 15, 2021
Inside Elections^[27]	Battleground	September 15, 2021
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[28]	Tossup	September 15, 2021

Notes[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

Partisan clients

^ This poll was sponsored by Save America PAC

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Fordham, Evie (December 6, 2020). "Doug Collins for Georgia governor? Lawmaker dodges question after Trump praise". Fox News.
^ Isenstadt, Alex (November 22, 2020). "Trump threatens to wreak havoc on GOP from beyond the White House". politico.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Richard Fausset (April 15, 2021). "Vernon Jones, a Pro-Trump Republican, Will Challenge Kemp in Georgia". New York Times.
^ Bridges, Chris (April 15, 2021). "Sizing Up The 2022 Georgia Races". The Monticello News. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Kemp kicks off reelection run". WGAU. WSB-TV. July 12, 2021. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
^ "Kemp Fires Back At Misinformation, 'Ready For Any Kind Of Fight' In 2022". 90.1 FM WABE. December 17, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^ Cannady, Dal. "Baxley teacher to run as Republican candidate for Ga. governor". wtoc.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
^ Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia. "The Jolt: Trump adviser floats mystery challenger to Gov. Brian Kemp". AJC.
^ Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia. "The Jolt: Details emerge about Ames Barnett, possible Brian Kemp primary foe". AJC.
^ https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/18/trump-team-perdue-kemp-506194
^ Alex Rogers (April 26, 2021). "Trump ally Doug Collins will not run for Georgia Senate or governor in 2022". CNN.
^ https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/breaking-herschel-walker-is-running-for-us-senate-in-georgia/6GZ3BDZBHJHRFFJA76PT2K2XLA/
^ Jim Denery (July 10, 2021). "Capitol Recap: It's time to check checks as Georgia fundraising reports roll in". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
^ Tia Mitchell; Patrick Murphy; Greg Bluestein (July 1, 2021). "The Jolt: Rudy Giuliani's back in Georgia to knock out Brian Kemp". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
^ John Solomon (April 15, 2021). "Trump-supporting ex-Democrat Vernon Jones to run against Gov. Kemp in Georgia GOP primary". Just The News.
^ Wendy Rogers [@WendyRogersAZ] (September 10, 2021). "I endorse @RepVernonJones for Governor of Georgia. We must not re-elect @BrianKempGA for his failure to secure Georgia's elections and his certification of the cesspool that was the 2020 election. Vernon is an election integrity fighter and a Trump" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ Stephen Fowler (July 15, 2021). "Vernon Jones Rides Pro-Trump Wave Into Primary Challenge Of Gov. Brian Kemp". GPB.
^ Trudo, Hanna (November 12, 2020). "Stacey Abrams Will Run for Governor Again, Allies Say". The Daily Beast.
^ Journal-Constitution, Patricia Murphy-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Greg Bluestein- Tia Mitchell- The Atlanta. "The Jolt: What we know about Stacey Abrams in 2022". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c https://decaturish.com/2021/08/george-on-georgia-stacey-abrams-silence-causing-great-disturbance-among-democrats/
^ Bluestein, Greg (May 23, 2016). "Kasim Reed: 'I think I've got another campaign in me'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
^ "Kasim Reed files to campaign for comeback as Atlanta mayor". Associated Press. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
^ Saturn, William (December 18, 2020). "Shane Hazel Announces Run for GA Governor". Independent Political Report. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
^ Woolverton, Paul (December 17, 2020). "Man who spoiled Georgia US Senate race for Perdue, Ossoff to run for governor in 2022". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
^ "Georgia Campaign Finance System". efile.ethics.ga.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
^ "2022 Governor Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "2022 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 11, 2021.

External links[]

Official campaign websites

[Key-18] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[SAPAC-19] This poll was sponsored by Save America PAC

[:0-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Fordham, Evie (December 6, 2020). "Doug Collins for Georgia governor? Lawmaker dodges question after Trump praise". Fox News.

[:1-2] Isenstadt, Alex (November 22, 2020). "Trump threatens to wreak havoc on GOP from beyond the White House". politico.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.

[:2-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Richard Fausset (April 15, 2021). "Vernon Jones, a Pro-Trump Republican, Will Challenge Kemp in Georgia". New York Times.

[4] Bridges, Chris (April 15, 2021). "Sizing Up The 2022 Georgia Races". The Monticello News. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.

[KempRun-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Kemp kicks off reelection run". WGAU. WSB-TV. July 12, 2021. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.

[6] "Kemp Fires Back At Misinformation, 'Ready For Any Kind Of Fight' In 2022". 90.1 FM WABE. December 17, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.

[7] Cannady, Dal. "Baxley teacher to run as Republican candidate for Ga. governor". wtoc.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.

[8] Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia. "The Jolt: Trump adviser floats mystery challenger to Gov. Brian Kemp". AJC.

[9] Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia. "The Jolt: Details emerge about Ames Barnett, possible Brian Kemp primary foe". AJC.

[10] ttps://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/18/trump-team-perdue-kemp-506194

[11] Alex Rogers (April 26, 2021). "Trump ally Doug Collins will not run for Georgia Senate or governor in 2022". CNN.

[12] ttps://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/breaking-herschel-walker-is-running-for-us-senate-in-georgia/6GZ3BDZBHJHRFFJA76PT2K2XLA/

[13] Jim Denery (July 10, 2021). "Capitol Recap: It's time to check checks as Georgia fundraising reports roll in". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

[14] Tia Mitchell; Patrick Murphy; Greg Bluestein (July 1, 2021). "The Jolt: Rudy Giuliani's back in Georgia to knock out Brian Kemp". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

[15] John Solomon (April 15, 2021). "Trump-supporting ex-Democrat Vernon Jones to run against Gov. Kemp in Georgia GOP primary". Just The News.

[16] Wendy Rogers [@WendyRogersAZ] (September 10, 2021). "I endorse @RepVernonJones for Governor of Georgia. We must not re-elect @BrianKempGA for his failure to secure Georgia's elections and his certification of the cesspool that was the 2020 election. Vernon is an election integrity fighter and a Trump" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[17] Stephen Fowler (July 15, 2021). "Vernon Jones Rides Pro-Trump Wave Into Primary Challenge Of Gov. Brian Kemp". GPB.

[20] Trudo, Hanna (November 12, 2020). "Stacey Abrams Will Run for Governor Again, Allies Say". The Daily Beast.

[21] Journal-Constitution, Patricia Murphy-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Greg Bluestein- Tia Mitchell- The Atlanta. "The Jolt: What we know about Stacey Abrams in 2022". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 6, 2021.

[disturbance-22] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c https://decaturish.com/2021/08/george-on-georgia-stacey-abrams-silence-causing-great-disturbance-among-democrats/

[23] Bluestein, Greg (May 23, 2016). "Kasim Reed: 'I think I've got another campaign in me'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

[24] "Kasim Reed files to campaign for comeback as Atlanta mayor". Associated Press. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.

[25] Saturn, William (December 18, 2020). "Shane Hazel Announces Run for GA Governor". Independent Political Report. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

[26] Woolverton, Paul (December 17, 2020). "Man who spoiled Georgia US Senate race for Perdue, Ossoff to run for governor in 2022". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.

[27] "Georgia Campaign Finance System". efile.ethics.ga.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2021.

[Cook_PR-28] "2022 Governor Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 4, 2021.

[Inside_Elections-29] "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 19, 2021.

[Sabato's_Crystal_Ball-30] "2022 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 11, 2021.

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