Atlanta

Gov. Brian Kemp says Perdue joining his ultimate goal: beat Stacey Abrams in November

By Justin Farmer, WSB-TV
By Justin Farmer, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — Voters gave Gov. Brian Kemp a huge victory in the Republican primary Tuesday night.

In an exclusive interview, Channel 2′s Justin Farmer sat down one-on-one with Kemp on Wednesday and asked the governor about what he sees ahead for the state and his race against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

“Our plan was to peak on Election Day, and we did that, and now we’re on to November,” Kemp said.

Kemp soundly defeated his challenger, David Perdue, and said his and Perdue’s focus is now on winning in November.

“We can’t worry about that now. We need to be united. The mission at hand is to beat Stacey Abrams. And you know, David Perdue called me last night and committed 100% to helping do that. He realizes that that is what we have to do. She does not need to be our governor,” Kemp said.

Farmer asked Kemp if there was one issue resonating the most among Georgians as he’s been crisscrossing the state.

“The thing people thanked me the most for was opening state, helping save their job or save their business, get your kids back in school. I told them, I said, I didn’t do that, I just gave you the opportunity to do that. That’s why I’m so proud of this state. And I don’t care what side of the political aisle you’re on, our citizens are so daggone resilient. They have fought through two years of hell during this pandemic,” Kemp said.

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Farmer asked Kemp about the killing of elementary school children in Texas Tuesday and the potential for red flag laws in Georgia, the kind of laws that would identify people who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Florida, for one, has such a law.

“Is there a place to look at that kind of legislation in Georgia?” Farmer asked Kemp.

“Well, listen, that’s what the session is for. To bring any kind of issue, whether it’s related to that or not, up, where they can go through due diligence. But I think looking at what we’ve done in our state, the legislation that we passed last year, was a great step forward. It’s going to give a lot of tools to law enforcement and I think we see how this all plays out and we see what the facts are, but also make sure we understand what’s happening in Georgia, what our superintendents, what our school leaders are saying that they need on the ground and continue to learn and act to put Georgians first and keep our kids safe,” Kemp said.

Farmer asked the governor if he’ll extend the state’s gas tax suspension.

He said he’s working with the state to make sure the state can afford to do so. He said he’ll make his decision very soon.

The current tax suspension is set to expire at the end of this month.

We did reach out to the Abrams campaign repeatedly this week to offer her the same opportunity for an interview, but they declined.

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