(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Tuesday’s primary in Georgia saw some of the most lopsided defeats for Republican candidates endorsed by Donald Trump, including impressive performances from incumbents like Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who fended off well-funded challenges as well as months of abuse from Trump himself.
Beyond Georgia, Republicans are blowing through millions of dollars to ensure that Trump-backed gubernatorial challengers don’t oust establishment GOP incumbents, shrinking the war chest that the party has historically drawn from to fend off Democratic opponents.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) has spent $5 million to bolster the campaign of Kemp, who quashed a primary challenge by the Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga. The RGA’s cash injection proved a “devastating blow” for Perdue’s odds, according to The Washington Post. And it’s not the only state that the group has targeted.
The RGA has spent at least $9 million to help incumbents in Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Idaho, and Oklahoma over the 2022 election cycle, The Daily Beast reports. In Alabama, the group swatted away a primary challenge to Gov. Kay Ivey’s re-election campaign with a $2 million donation. Ivey won over 50% of the primary vote, immediately disqualifying all of her Republican challengers.
https://www.salon.com/2022/05/25/drains-of-cash-in-georgia–then-suffers-embarrassing-defeat/