David Perdue on Georgia governor bid: I got in to 'stop' Stacey Abrams

Former U.S. Sen David Perdue, R-Ga., declared he is challenging Peach State Gov. Brian Kemp in the 2022 Republican primary, telling Fox News in his first interview since the announcement that the incumbent has lost the confidence of Georgians and that moreover he must stop left-wing former State Rep. Stacey Abrams, the current Democratic primary front-runner.

Perdue, who was almost immediately endorsed by former President Donald Trump, becomes the second top-name Republican to oppose Kemp in the primary race, after former State Rep. Vernon Jones – who switched parties in support of the ex-president – declared a bid earlier this fall.

Perdue told "Hannity" that Abrams – who declared a Democratic bid last week – wants to turn Georgia into a "failed state" like Gov. Gavin Newsom has done in California.

He pointed to host Sean Hannity's montage of mobs of looters in San Francisco and Oakland areas, saying Abrams will allow such criminality to descend upon cities like Atlanta back home.

"I got in [the race] very simply to stop Stacey Abrams and save our state," said Perdue, who lost a runoff earlier this year to retain his seat against current Sen. T. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

"It is a sad state of affairs that our current governor has lost the confidence of many Republicans. But Sean, I’m excited -- this has been a great day since our announcement this morning."

He publicly thanked Trump for his endorsement and said he will "stand in the breach" to protect Georgia from becoming San Francisco.

Perdue is also the cousin of former Trump Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue – himself a onetime Georgia Republican governor.

Perdue told Hannity there is plain video evidence that Abrams lied recently when she claimed on MSNBC that she did not challenge the election results of 2018 when Kemp narrowly defeated her.

Abrams stated in a broadcasted speech in November 2018 that her address was "not a speech of concession" to Kemp, and saying in other remarks in 2019: "We won" and "I’m not saying they stole it from me, they stole it from the voters of Georgia."

Hannity noted that the press has lambasted a number of Republicans who claimed President Biden robbed Trump of a win, but have alternatively stayed largely silent on Abrams' similar claim.

"Look, Stacey Abrams on her side complained about the election. We’ve seen irregularities in this election. What the people of Georgia want is voter integrity," Perdue replied.

"They want to know that our democracy when they vote is going to count and not be stolen pay let’s be very clear. Stacey Abrams is not interested in Georgia. She wants to become president of the United States for this is Democratic Party’s way of showcasing her."

Perdue added that he wants to however look forward and not backward and unlike Abrams, offer a promising vision for the Peach State.

"I [also] want to fight Biden at every turn on these silly mandates," he said, adding that he will not do as Kemp did and enter into an electoral-policy "consent decree" with the opposition.

"Over my dead body will we ever do what Kemp did [and] turn our elections over to Stacey Abrams. We will never let that happen again."

Perdue added that a Perdue-Abrams contest would offer a stronger possibility than with Kemp that Republican voters turn out to support retired Dallas Cowboys running back Herschel Walker in his bid against Sen. Raphael G. Warnock – who will be seeking his first full term after defeating Kelly Loeffler in the January runoff.

Host Sean Hannity went on to add that, in terms of Biden's opposition to Georgia's new election law, the president's home state of Delaware has stringent voter identification standards which have gone unnoticed by Abrams, who has roundly criticized Georgia's new policy.