Georgia election results: Trump foe Brian Kemp wins primary as Herschel Walker secures GOP Senate nom
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Your support makes all the difference.Key primaries in several US states today saw high-profile Republican candidates facing off against each other and in some cases trying to triumph over rivals endorsed by Donald Trump.
In Georgia, incumbent Governor Brian Kemp won a decisive victory over his main challenger, Trump endorsee David Perdue, whose campaign failed to catch fire despite the ex-president’s interventions. Mr Trump’s former deputy, Mike Pence, campaigned for Mr Kemp.
The state’s GOP senate primary saw the nomination of controversial ex-footballer Herschel Walker, a very popular grassroots figure coaxed into the race by Trump himself whose sometimes erratic behaviour, business dealings and history of personal problems have left some Republicans worried about his general election chances.
And in Alabama, Congressman Mo Brooks hopes to make a comeback in the Republican senate race despite having lost Mr Trump’s endorsement earlier this year. At the time he was sinking in the polls, and also called on his supporters to start “moving on” from the 2020 election, thus provoking Mr Trump’s disdain.
Five things to watch in the Georgia, Texas and Alabama primaries
Anti-abortion Democrat Henry Cuellar primary race is too close to call against progressive challenger
Ken Paxton beats George P Bush in Texas attorney general’s race
Brian Kemp staves off Trump’s effort to oust him in Georgia
Trump-backed Herschel Walker wins Republican nomination for US Senate in Georgia
Marjorie Taylor Greene reacts to Uvalde shooting with rallying cry against gun control
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right conspiracy spreader up for renomination in Tuesday’s primary elections in Georgia, was one of the first to jump into the fray with a call to oppose new gun control efforts after news of a school shooting broke in Uvalde, Texas.
“America is failing our youngest generations from decades of rejecting good moral values and teachings,” the freshman House member, up for reelection in a GOP primary on Tuesday, wrote in a tweet. “We don’t need more gun control. We need to return to God.”
Read more from The Independent’s John Bowden:
Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets ‘we don’t need more gun control’ in response to Uvalde
Far-right congresswoman is one of first to defend gun ownership after shooting
Polls close in Georgia
Polls closed in Georgia at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. The state is home to several high-profile races, including its gubernatorial contest and Republican US Senate primary.
David Perdue, the Trump-endorsed former senator, looks to be on the verge of defeat in his bid to rebuke Gov Brian Kemp on the former president’s behalf. And NFL veteran and Heisman-winner Herschel Walker could take home a new trophy: GOP nominee to the US Senate.
There’s also the primary election in the 14th district, where Marjorie Taylor Greene faces several Republican challengers.
Stacey Abrams advances to likely rematch with Brian Kemp
Polls are closed in Georgia, and that means Stacey Abrams is officially the Democratic nominee in the state’s gubernatorial election. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Ms Abrams lost an election to incumbent Gov Brian Kemp, who looked poised to win his own primary on Tuesday, in 2018 after an election concluded that was marred by accusations of voter suppression made by Ms Abrams’ campaign regarding voter roll purges conducted by Georgia’s government in the months leading up to the vote.
Now, she looks to be headed for a rematch with Mr Kemp after spending several years building a voter registration machine in the state.
Herschel Walker wins blowout victory in GOP Senate primary
Three-time Heisman-winner Herschel Walker is headed to a general election in November after a commanding win in Georgia’s Republican Senate primary on Tuesday.
The race was called around 8:00 p.m. eastern time, when Mr Walker was ahead of his closest opponent by a massive 57-point margin.
He will face Rev Raphael Warnock, the incumbent, for Georgia’s US Senate seat later this year.
Marjorie Taylor Greene wins GOP primary in Georgia
Far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is once again the GOP nominee for Congress in the 14th District of Georgia.
The controversial House member won her primary on Tuesday by a wide margin, and she was leading her closest opponent by about 50 per cent by the time the race was called shortly before 9pm.
Read more in The Independent:
Ken Paxton beats George P Bush in Texas attorney general’s race
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won renomination on Tuesday against George P Bush, the last scion of the Bush political dynasty.
The race was characterised by Mr Paxton’s image as a warrior in the courts for various conservative causes as well as both men’s attempts to win the favour of Donald Trump, who endorsed Mr Paxton despite Mr Bush’s willingness to seek his support even over the former president’s frequent criticism of other Bush family politicians.
Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:
Ken Paxton beats George P Bush in Texas attorney general’s race
Paxton’s victory marks the first statewide race a Bush has lost in Texas in decades
Brian Kemp rebukes Donald Trump in Georgia
Tuesday’s primary elections concluded Donald Trump’s effort to oust a GOP governor who refused to bend to his will and support his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Brian Kemp won a decisive victory over David Perdue, the state’s former senator, on Tuesday, claiming more than 70 per cent of the vote.
Read more in The Independent from John Bowden:
Brian Kemp staves off Trump’s effort to oust him in Georgia
Governor faced rebuke over refusal to interfere in 2020 election
Biden met with boos at Herschel Walker’s victory party
President Joe Biden’s call for the US to stand up to the gun lobby was not well received at the victory party of Herschel Walker in Georgia.
Mr Walker, a Trump-endorsed former NFL player, won Tuesday’s GOP primary for the US Senate in the state.
Abortion access a focus in Texas runoff
Texas’s runoff election for the state’s 28th district was a duel between Jessica Cisneros and Henry Cuellar, an incumbent conservative Democratic congressman who held a slight lead over his opponent heading into the evening with just over 80 per cent of the vote reported.
The race shifted its focus to Mr Cuellar’s opposition to abortion rights earlier this month when it became clear that the Supreme Court may be on the verge of overturning Roe vs Wade.
Read more from The Associated Press:
Abortion access a focus of Cuellar, Cisneros runoff in Texas
Rep. Henry Cuellar, one of the only anti-abortion Democrats remaining in Congress, will face progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros on in a runoff for the nomination in South Texas’ largest district
Herschel Walker responds to Texas shooting
Trump-endorsed Senate candidate Herschel Walker responded to a question about the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, from CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday after being declared the winner of his primary race in Georgia.
Mr Walker said only that he wanted to see more about the shooting before he made up his mind what legislation, if any, he thought would be an appropriate response to the shooting.
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