As speculation mounts over who’s going to run for Georgia governor, one of the three declared candidates in the race made a campaign stop in Habersham.
Republican candidate and Brian Kemp challenger Vernon Jones was the featured guest speaker at the Habersham GOP’s monthly meeting in Demorest on November 9. The former Democratic State Representative and Dekalb County CEO turned Republican was met with cheers and applause from party faithful as he shared his campaign platform and plans to challenge Gov. Kemp and Stacy Abrams.
Jones outlined his goals to keep critical race theory out of state schools, remove all state funding from Planned Parenthood, reduce state income taxes, launch an investigation and audit into the 2020 presidential election and support Georgia’s new voting law.
“You want to call this a Jim Crow Law? What are they afraid of, that Stacy’s going to sit on them?” Jones joked during his campaign speech in Habersham. The off-color reference to Abrams’ weight drew laughs from the crowd. “You know why the Democrats are pulling their hair out? Because they’re so scared of me. And the RINOs? Because I’m the only one that can beat Stacy Abrams.”
Abrams, the former minority leader who served in the state House with Jones and came close to beating Kemp for governor in 2018, has not yet announced whether she intends to run again in 2022. If she does, she’ll enter the race as the Democratic front-runner, and political observers say it’s unlikely she’ll face a formidable primary challenge.
While sitting governors rarely face primary challenges, Kemp will. He and his supporters will have to fight to hold onto his role as the state’s presumptive party leader in the wake of the fallout from the 2020 presidential election.
In addition to Jones and South Georgia educator Kandiss Taylor, there’s speculation former U.S. Senator David Perdue may enter the race for the GOP nomination.
