Former Georgia Senator and loser to now Sen. John Osoff (D-GA) in last year’s election runoff, David Purdue can’t accept that more people voted for the other person. As he makes a new push for the governor’s seat in 2022, Purdue wants to make sure things are “fair” for the next election–the quintessential Republican framing to make sure the losses they took in the 2020 election don’t happen again.
Ahead of the Georgia primary, Purdue is calling for an “Election Law Enforcement Division in the State of Georgia,” according to CNN. They go on to describe what this means:
Perdue’s plan would create “an Election Law Enforcement Division in the State of Georgia” that would “be charged with enforcing election laws, investigating election crimes and fraud, and arresting those who commit these offenses,” according to a release from his campaign. Perdue’s plan also called for “election results to be independently audited before certification.”
“I’ll do what Brian Kemp has failed to do,” Perdue says in his statement. “I’ll make Georgia elections the safest and securest in the country.” Funny to hear Purdue frame current governor Brian Kemp as a person who hasn’t tried to suppress the vote enough. Kemp is the one who signed a bunch of sweeping voter suppression acts into law that results in problems places like Lincoln County face now. Not to mention, Black residents are being purged from election boards. Like the Spider-Man meme, Purdue and Kemp are pointing at each other to be the same kind of terrible.
If this sounds familiar, it’s a variation of what Florida governor Ron Desantis is doing–another person who happens to be running for re-election in 2022. Both Kemp and Purdue are due to run against Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams. (good luck). Maybe they need all the help they can get–trying to tweak laws to their advantage because they wouldn’t be able to beat her straight up. There’s also a senate race happening–current Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is due to face off against Republican candidate Herschel Walker. Maybe Walker would be better suited to challenge Warnock on the football field other than the upcoming debates.