David Perdue says Republican party ‘already divided’ as he qualifies in race for governor

ATLANTA — Another candidate is officially on the ballot in the race for governor.

Former US Sen. David Perdue qualified Wednesday at the state capitol, just one day after Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams.

Two Republicans, one Democrat have entered the race, and they’re all running against each other.

Perdue qualified Wednesday and insisted he’s the only one who can unite the Georgia Republican party.

“I’m excited to be here this morning. It’s not what I planned to be doing this time of year because I’m very, very concerned about our state,” Perdue said.

Perdue is running against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in what is expected to be a bitterly tough campaign for the GOP nomination.

Some Republicans worry that Perdue’s entrance into the race would split the party and make it easier for Abrams to win.

Perdue told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that he does not agree.

“When I got into this, people that supported us, a lot of them the political establishment, said, ‘David, you’re going to divide the party.’ My answer to that is no. It’s already divided. I didn’t do that. Brian Kemp did that,” Perdue said.

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The Kemp campaign sent a statement to Elliot about Perdue qualifying, saying, “At this point, David Perdue’s campaign is nothing more than an in-kind contribution to Stacey Abrams. Governor Kemp will remain focused on uniting republicans and beating Abrams this fall.”

Abrams qualified Tuesday.

Her campaign deferred comment to Georgia Democrats who said, “Trump’s increasing investment and involvement in this race is fueled more by his hatred of Kemp than his support for Perdue as he continues trying to oust Kemp; the brutal GOP primary will only grow nastier.”

Perdue does have former President Trump’s endorsement, while Kemp leads in the most recent polls.

“We’re right where we want to be right now. I love being the challenger,” Perdue said.

Kemp scheduled to qualify in the race for governor on Thursday.

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