The Fox News Decision Desk can now project that Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will retain his seat, defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams.
The showdown was a rematch of the 2018 governor’s election in Georgia, where Kemp narrowly edged Abrams, a former state Democratic legislative leader, voting rights champion and rising star in her party.
While Abrams enjoyed a large fundraising advantage over Kemp during the entire election cycle, the governor consistently held the lead over Abrams in most public opinion polling during the campaign.
Kemp touted his record in office as he ran for re-election and continuously highlighted the issue of crime.
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Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Nov. 8, 2022. (Screenshot/PBS)
"I fulfilled a lot of promises over the last three and a half years. We created the gang task force at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. We’ve given our attorney general, Chris Carr, more resources to prosecute gangs," Kemp told Fox News Digital in October. "We’ve been making sure our capital city’s safe."
The governor also repeatedly accused Abrams of supporting the defund the police movement and blasted her for her support for cashless bail.
Abrams countered by attacking the governor as weak on crime. Pointing to a bill the governor signed into law in April that allows people to carry firearms without a permit, an Abrams ad over the summer claimed that "Brian Kemp may talk tough, but he makes us less safe."
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And Abrams said that if elected, she’d boost the base salaries of some law enforcement officers and expand training for officers who specialize in mental health and social services.
Kemp advanced to the general election against Abrams by easily defeating a Republican challenge from former Sen. David Perdue — who was endorsed and heavily supported by former President Donald Trump — in the state’s May GOP gubernatorial primary. Perdue’s crushing defeat to Kemp was the biggest and most high-profile loss this cycle by a Trump-backed candidate.
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