Georgia Republicans finally have their nominee for November. Secretary of State Brian Kemp soundly defeated Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle Tuesday to clinch the GOP nomination.
Kemp defeated Cagle 405,890 votes (69%) to 178,438 (31%), according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office.
Kemp took a commanding lead early and never looked back. Shortly before 9:30 p.m., with Kemp up by more than 170,000 votes, Cagle conceded on Twitter.
He congratulated Kemp on his campaign and added, “Georgia Republicans trust you to carry our mantle forward.” The longtime lieutenant governor then thanked his supporters. “We gave it our all & I’m proud of all we accomplished,” Cagle tweeted.
Congratulations @BrianKempGA. You ran a great campaign & Georgia Republicans trust you to carry our mantle forward. To the #CagleLead supporters, Nita and I are truly touched by your dedication and commitment to our future!! We gave it our all & I’m proud of all we accomplished!
— Casey Cagle (@CaseyCagle) July 25, 2018
Buoyed by a last minute endorsement from President Trump, Brian Kemp made a final campaign push through South Georgia on Monday. Vice-President Mike Pence joined him for a rally in Macon.
Kemp cited the Trump factor in his victory speech to supporters in Athens.
“We can not forget that tweet that we heard around Georgia,” Kemp said to a cheering crowd of supporters.
“I want to give a big thanks to President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence for standing with us in these final days and for standing with me. As you know, we had momentum in this race and those endorsements from the president and vice-president, they poured gasoline on the fire and fueled the Kemp surge to victory.”
Kemp now faces Democrat Stacey Abrams in the race for governor in the November general election.
Abrams reacted to Kemp’s victory on Twitter. She said, “Tonight, I have an opponent: Kemp.”
She wrote that, while the race for governor may change, “our values never will.”
“Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA,” Abrams tweeted as she touted her support for affordable health care, a strong public education system, and “an economy that works for all.”
Tonight, I have an opponent: Kemp.
The race for #GAGov may change, but our values never will. Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA: Affordable health care. Excellent public schools for every child. An economy that works for all.
Stand with us: https://t.co/4TaJgVVVn7
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) July 25, 2018
Other runoff results
While all eyes were trained on the Cagle/Kemp race, a nail-biter of a runoff developed in the lieutenant governor’s race.
Geoff Duncan claimed a razor thin edge over challenger David Shafer. Duncan won by less than a percentage point – 278,626 votes (50.15%) to Shafer’s 276,954 votes (49.85%).
Brad Raffensperger claimed the Republican nomination for Secretary of State. Raffensperger defeated his GOP rival, David Bell Isle, 329,009 votes (62%) to 203,739 (38%).
And in the only statewide Democratic runoff, Otha E. Thornton, Jr. defeated his challenger, Sid Chapman, 86,361 votes (59%) to Chapman’s 59,788 (41%).
Click here for Habersham County runoff results.
(photo courtesy WABE)
