Trump lauds Perdue bid for Georgia governor, says GOP Gov. Kemp 'hurt election integrity'

President Trump on Monday praised David Perdue, his preferred candidate, in the former Georgia GOP senator's bid to unseat incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who the former president accused of having "hurt election integrity." 

"Wow, it looks like highly respected (former) Senator David Perdue will be running against RINO Brian Kemp for governor of Georgia," Trump said in a fundraising letter.

"David was a great senator, and he truly loves his state and his country. This will be very interesting, and I can’t imagine that Brian Kemp, who has hurt election integrity in Georgia so badly, can do well at the ballot box (unless the election is rigged, of course). He cost us two senate seats and a presidential victory in the Great State of Georgia.

Trump in the aftermath of losing Georgia and the entire 2020 reelection bid called Kemp and unsuccessfully urged him to further audit the election results, in likely hopes of overturning the Electoral College outcome.

Perdue announced Monday his much expected primary bid against Kemp. In a video announcement, Perdue said Kemp "has failed all of us and cannot win in November."

Perdue was recruited by Trump to challenge Kemp.

Trump has also vowed to campaign against Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, arguing he and Kemp failed to fully investigate election fraud claims in 2020.

Perdue lost to Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in January 2021, following runoff elections in the state where Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler also lost her seat to Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock.

If Perdue beats Kemp in the primary, he could face Democrat Stacey Abrams in the general election. Abrams, who was defeated by Kemp in 2018 by less than 55,000 votes, announced her second run for governor of Georgia last week.

"I’m running for governor to make sure Stacey Abrams is NEVER governor of Georgia," Perdue said in a tweet accompanying the video, according to NBC News. "We need bold conservatives who will stand up to the woke left, not cave to their radical demands. Join me in this fight to Stop Stacey and Save Georgia."

Perdue initially filed paperwork in February 2021 to challenge Warnock's Senate seat in 2022, but abandoned those plans. Currently, former NFL star Republican Herschel Walker is set to face Warnock.