Newly minted GOP Senate nominee David Perdue
This primary season has been full of surprises, and Tuesday night marks another one. In Georgia's primary runoff, former Dollar General CEO David Perdue, a cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, narrowly edged favorite Rep. Jack Kingston. With most of the vote counted, Perdue holds a 50.83-49.17 margin, outside the state's 1 percent recount threshold.
Perdue led Kingston 31-26 in the May primary, but Kingston appeared to have the momentum going in to the race. Kingston received the backing of former Secretary of State Karen Handel and Rep. Phil Gingrey, who finished third and fourth in May respectively. Kingston also led in all but one runoff poll, though Perdue appeared to be making up ground as the runoff inched closer. Perdue also made a number of gaffes throughout his time in the race, including touching the third rail of Republican politics when he appeared to suggest a tax hike may be necessary. But in the end, he surprisingly pulled it off.
Ultimately, what seemed to doom Kingston was the Metro Atlanta area. While neither candidate was from there, Perdue had better ties to the region than the South Georgia area-Kingston. In May Kingston came in third there, and while he didn't need to win the big metro counties, he needed to stop Perdue from romping in them. While Kingston came close, he didn't do quite well enough. Perdue carried most of the big counties by eight to 14 point margins, small enough to keep him from running away with a win but large enough to stop Kingston. The congressman won big in his native South Georgia, but it wasn't quite enough to beat Perdue.
Perdue will go on to face Michelle Nunn, one of the top Democratic recruits of the cycle. Polls show Nunn competitive with or even leading Perdue. However, for Nunn to win outright in November, she will need to win a majority of the vote: If no one clears 50 percent, the top two candidates will face a runoff in January, where Democratic turnout is expected to drop. Both Kingston and Perdue had their flaws, but Perdue's undisciplined nature probably makes him the better foil for Democrats. Still, this will be a tough race, and Nunn will need all the help she can get to win a majority in November.
Republicans also held three runoffs in safely red House seats. In the 1st District, the more establishment flavored Sen. Buddy Carter beat tea partying doctor Bob Johnson 54-46. In the 10th, pastor Jody Hice turned back businessman Michael Collins 54-46, the son of a former congressman. In the 11th, state Sen. Barry Loudermilk destroyed former Rep. and 2008 Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr 66-34. Like many primaries this year, there's no clear narrative we can latch on to other than Republican primaries are unpredictable.
And finally ... Kingston concedes:
I called @Perduesenate to congratulate him and offer my support for his campaign in the General Election.
— @JackKingston4GA
