AP

Pence to rally with Kemp in Georgia in break with Trump

May 13, 2022, 8:33 AM | Updated: May 14, 2022, 6:06 am

FILE - Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a fundraiser for Carolina Pregnancy Center on Thu...

FILE - Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a fundraiser for Carolina Pregnancy Center on Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Spartanburg, S.C. Pence will campaign with Georgia's incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp the day before this month's GOP primary in his most significant political beak with former President Donald Trump to date. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will campaign with Georgia’s incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp the day before this month’s GOP primary in his most significant political break with former President Donald Trump to date.

Kemp’s campaign announced Friday morning that Pence will headline a get-out-the-vote rally for Kemp on Monday, May 23rd, the day before the vote. That puts Pence in direct conflict with Trump-endorsed candidate David Perdue, who has been trailing in the polls. Kemp is one of Trump’s top targets this election cycle because of his refusal to cooperate with Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“Brian Kemp is my friend, a man dedicated to faith, family and the people of Georgia,” Pence said in a statement. “I am proud to offer my full support for four more years of Brian Kemp as governor of the great state of Georgia!”

The news comes as Pence has taken steps to distance himself from Trump as the former congressman and Indiana governor considers a 2024 presidential run that could put him into direct competition with his former boss.

That has included calling out Trump by name. In February, Pence said Trump was “wrong” to insist that Pence had the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the 2020 election — a power vice presidents do not possess. In a separate speech before top Republican donors, Pence urged the GOP to move on from Trump’s election grievances and said there was “no room in this party for apologists” for Vladimir Putin after Trump praised the Russian leader’s maneuvering as “genius” before his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

“Elections are about the future,” Pence said in March. “My fellow Republicans, we can only win if we are united around an optimistic vision for the future based on our highest values. We cannot win by fighting yesterday’s battles, or by relitigating the past.”

In an interview with radio host John Fredericks on the conservative Real America’s Voice, Trump declined to unleash on Pence when asked about his decision to campaign with Kemp.

“Well, Mike is trying to get involved and he’s a very nice man,” he said. “But he really let us all down.”

The former president, meanwhile, continued to pan a trio of current and former Republican governors, including New Jersey’s Chris Christie, whom he had previously labeled “RINOs” — or “Republicans in Name Only” — for supporting Kemp.

“We have to fight these people,” Trump said Friday.

Earlier this week, Trump had said their support “tells you all you need to know about what you are getting in Georgia — just a continuation of bad elections and a real RINO if you vote for Brian Kemp.”

“Maybe the ‘R’ in RINO really stands for reelected,” Christie quipped back.

The Georgia race is a gamble for Trump, who notched a major victory in Ohio earlier this month when JD Vance, the candidate he endorsed, came from behind to win a competitive GOP Senate primary. But last week, his pick for governor in Nebraska, Charles Herbster, lost his primary amid groping allegations. And Trump faces further challenges ahead, including in Pennsylvania next week, where his pick for Senate, celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz, is locked in a tight, three-way race.

Kemp had been substantially ahead of Perdue in polls in March and April, and many expect Kemp will be able to prevail without a June runoff, which would be triggered if no candidate won a majority of the vote.

Still, Trump voiced optimism for his candidate Friday, saying he’d been “hearing good things” about Perdue’s standing. Perdue’s campaign has argued this week that record turnout during Georgia’s early-voting period, especially among Republicans who haven’t traditionally voted in primaries, is good for their candidate. They claim pollsters have missed Perdue’s support, although there’s no way to know whom primary voters are selecting.

Perdue, a former senator, has also been lagging in fundraising and had about $900,000 cash on hand on April 30, less than a month before the May 24 primary, while Kemp had $10.7 million.

Trump’s political action committee last month gave $500,000 to a group running attack ads against Kemp — his first major spending in any race this cycle, despite entering the year with more than $120 million in cash. Trump rallied for Perdue and his other favored candidates in Georgia in March, but hasn’t scheduled a return.

But the Republican Governors Association has spent millions to support Kemp, exacerbating Perdue’s financial disadvantage. Christie, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are all supposed to stump for Kemp in the closing days as part of that push.

In-state Republicans are also rallying to Kemp. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, whose relationship to Kemp was rocky in the first 18 months of Kemp’s term, said Thursday that “Gov. Kemp is my governor, and I’m going to support him,” on Thursday after the governor signed the upcoming state budget in Ralston’s hometown. Ralston said Kemp has “taken a lot of unfair hits.”

The winner will face Democrat Stacey Abrams, who has raised more than $20 million so far and had $8 million in cash on April 30.

___

Associated Press writer Jeff Amy contributed from Atlanta.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              FILE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a gubernatorial republican primary debate on May 1, 2022, in Atlanta. Former Vice President Mike Pence will campaign with Georgia's incumbent Kemp the day before this month's GOP primary in his most significant political beak with former President Donald Trump to date. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool, File)

AP

Ray Epps Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, ...

Associated Press

Ray Epps, an Arizona man who supported Trump, pleads guilty to Capital riot charge

Ray Epps, the target of a conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge.

2 days ago

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined in an interview aired Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, to ...

Associated Press

Trump refuses to say in a TV interview how he watched the Jan. 6 attack unfold at the US Capitol

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined in an interview aired Sunday to answer questions about whether he watched the Capitol riot.

5 days ago

This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez being det...

Associated Press

Mexico extradites son of ‘El Chapo,’ Ovidio Guzman Lopez to US

The son of notorious cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, Ovidio Guzman Lopez was extradited to the U.S. on Friday.

5 days ago

impeachments in US history...

Associated Press

A look at notable impeachments in US history, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday on during his impeachment trial. Here's a roundup of impeachments in U.S. history.

6 days ago

The sticker price is displayed in the window of an unsold 2023 Navigator sports-utility vehicle at ...

Associated Press

The auto workers strike will drive up car prices, but not right away — unless consumers panic

Car shoppers are heading for a new round of sticker shock if the strike by the United Auto Workers doesn’t end soon, officials say.

6 days ago

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announces an order restricting people from carrying guns in Bernalillo ...

Associated Press

Group sues after New Mexico governor suspends right to carry guns in Albuquerque in public

The New Mexico governor's emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public near Albuquerque drew an immediate court challenge.

12 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

Mayo Clinic

Game on! Expert sports physicals focused on you

With tryouts quickly approaching, now is the time for parents to schedule physicals for their student-athlete. The Arizona Interscholastic Association requires that all student-athletes must have a physical exam completed before participating in team practices or competition.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

Pence to rally with Kemp in Georgia in break with Trump