governor kemp? gov. kemp: well, thank you. first of all, our daughter is a first year first-grade teacher. and i came home one friday after being on the road all week and she looked at me. i said how was your week? she goes dad, the burnout is real. so i know it is. and that is why we designed the pay raise to be in the pay scale, but also to be across-the-board $5,000, so it benefits the new incoming teachers. because we were losing -- when i was campaigning, this is something i promised. we were losing 44% of our new teachers. that's web the payraise. the other thing we can do is tell our educators thank you for what you've been doing. it's incredible what they went through during covid. many of our educators were having to see students during the summer, which is something that they normally don't do. we also put money into the budget to get more mental health counselors into our high schools. through mental health counseling, through the apex program. we have been addressing the things that have been causing the stress wit

that's incumbent brian kemp.et in what some even republicans call president trump's vendetta tour, meaning a mission to bring down republicans who refuse to

george kemp, t -- brian kemp ha strong lead over perdue. and tonight mike pence had to be hustled out of the capitol, remember, as rioters were chanting about hanging him. why were they doing that? all because he refused to throw out electoral votes, which he had no power to do, anyway. he is now campaigning for kemp. >> when you say yes to governor brian kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message all across america that the republican party is the party of the future! >> a deafening message that is not going to sit well with his former boss who is all about 2020. no surprise. trump is slamming pence, calling him desperate to chase his lost relevance and claiming he is hoping someone is paying attention. he was saying that about someone else. projection, right? the gop primary will face democrat stacey abrams in november, and david perdue reach turns to race as he reaches twht may be the end of the line. listen to this. >> she said this is the worst country to live in. let her go back and she don't like it here. the only thing she wan

kemp and perdue.re's one georgia they are speaking to and it doesn't look like us, and it feels exclusionary, that like we're happy with what we have. nobody who is -- who doesn't have money, no one who isn't with they, no one who isn't right is part of their georgia, it's just me as someone who is visiting here. that what troubles me. >> the challenge is even broader. they don't care about rural georgians. they have allowed three hospitals to close down during the pandemic. i met a nurse whose aunt perished because the ambulance to save her life was going to have to take her to alabama because brian kemp was too mean and too cruel to expand medicaid. i've talked to white families who are desperate to be able to afford a place to live, and it's not just atlanta, it's augusta, it's savannah and macon and albany and across the street where they can't afford to live if they are making minimum wage or just above that. they don't care about people already flourishing. if you've got enough they will help yo

let's start with brian kemp. he's weathered a year of attacks from former president trump for not going along with president trump's now claims about the 2020 election. he still seems poised for victory. how has he held on? >> this is a story about the limitations of what former president trump can do. let's remember that former president trump has called brian kemp a coward, a turncoat, really saying he's a traitor for not overturning an election that was fairly decided. he wanted georgia to go red. it did not go red. here we have former president trump wanting to go against him. he picked out senator perdue saying he wanted this person in particular to run against brian kemp. the way kemp has weathered this is because the republican governors association and a number of republicans have banded together and said we're going to have brian kemp's back. of course we have to talk about the fact that vice president pence is now on the side of brian kemp, the most direct challenge we've seen from the former vice presi

>> you know what i think about kemp. kemp isn't for the party. kemp is for the people.>> lawrence: what matter matters the most to you facing the country right now. >> the economy. fuel, groceries. you can tell the difference when you walk in the store pump your own gas. i mean it's just way out of control. i think we are going to be in trouble here in a few months. >> lawrence: guys, we continue to hear that it is the economy, economy, economy. all the other issues are just, you know, political posturing. they care about the economy this place right here is getting ready to have to raise their price again. they raised their price 15% two months ago. you can imagine how that's going to impact their customers. it's still a packed house here though. send it back to you in new york. >> will: quick question. i know you have been making your way around talking to various people. have you met anyone yet who says david perdue? >> lawrence: my audio went out, will, but i think you heard me say has anyone said that they were going to go for perdue? yes, i have met two people tha

donald trump sends out a tweet saying essentially the governor kemp would be the the brian kemp would be the best republican on the ticket and he gave him his full throated endorsement that changed the game for brian. he was in a he was in the he was in the lead in the polls, but he was in a very tight race. okay against lieutenant governor casey cagle at the time. he went from close like when but close to a runaway route. i mean, he won every one of georgia's 159 counties, but two so that just shows you even one casey cagle's home county that just shows you what the trump endorsement meant in 2018. you could see their ties were starting to strain a little bit doing the pandemic and particularly and i go into this great detail on the book, but when governor camp picked kelly leffler for an open us and it see against or not with the full broader approval of the president at the time. so that was when the strange really started, but they accelerated doing the election process and afterwards were trump wanted brian kemp to call a special session it could have resulted in lawmakers trying

it's the brian kemp race. he's running to get one thing, more than 50% of the vote to avoid a june runoff. he's doing that by not engaging his main opponent really who is donald trump. ever since governor kemp certified the 2020 election that grudge match has been underway, and it's been boiling. this is the only primary where the former president has invested actual money, his money into the race. more than 2 $.5 million. that's not been enough to keep mr. purdue, david purdue on television in the final week of this race. what this is going to be is a sense of if governor kemp can simply do what many republicans have not done, ignore donald trump in the final weeks of this race, he's not mentioned his name at all at a rally last evening with mike pence, he was in town. mr. trump's name was not mentioned at all, talking to voters here. they are viewing this race as a distinctive one because there's a republican incumbent governor up for reelection. and they want him to succeed as they look forward to a rematch

i can honestly say i was for brian kemp before it was cool. >> when you say yes to governor brian kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message all across america that the republican party is the party of the future. >> and with that, trump's former vice president just may have made the biggest and boldest break yet from the man that is still mad that he certified the election for biden. we already knew that trump was angry with brian kemp. he's been actively working to oust him from office ever since and calling him a turn coat, calling him a coward, and a complete disaster. remember, he even enlisted former senator david perdue to run against him in the gubernatorial primary. now, governor kemp has said today that, well, the bad blood, it doesn't go both ways. >> i had a great relationship with president trump. i've never said anything bad about him. i don't plan on doing that. i'm not mad at him. i think he's just mad at me, and that's something that i can't control. >> the question is how all this is playing with republican voters in georgia and possibly beyond. i mean, despite

he's never forgiven kemp and other gop officials for refusing to meddle in the election. >> brian kemp want to look. he didn't want anything to do with it. >> reporter: trump convinced former senator david purdue to challenge kemp, a bet that's looking risky. 67% of the primary voters support kemp while 28 % back purdue. a healthy increase in the governor's advantage since march. gone are the days when trump, purdue, and kemp were all part of a unified republican family. deep divisionings rooted in the election lie are at the heart of the georgia primary. >> what i'm frustrated with is that we can't get our republican leaders to investigate. they say we looked. they have not. they have not done that. >> at rallies -- >> they attacked and cheated on our elections and did it right here in georgia. >> and in tv ads. >> brian kemp let us down. we can't let it happen again. >> trump blames others for his defeat. >> president trump has called you a turncoat, a coward. what do you say to georgians making up their mind right now, if they should listen to him or listen to you? >> i would tell g

he's challenging the incumbent republican governor, brian kemp.ou've got far-right congressman jody hice, who's hoping to oust the current incoming secretary of state, brad raffensperger. these races are notable, not only as a referendum on trump's attempt to do, but also to set the groundwork for the next one. because out of all of trump's attempts to overturn the will of the voters and steal the election, what is the state of georgia, where he put his most effort? part of that of course has to do with how humiliated trump appears to have felt by his defeat over there, not only because the election was widely seen as repudiation to him and his movement, and it has been years since a democrat won it. but also, because he thought georgia was a red republican controlled state, and in trump 's mind state republicans were supposed to help deliver his win. it all started almost immediately after nbc news declared biden the winner, the apparent winner of georgia. it was on november 13th, 2020, and trump's meltdown began in full. he immediately started m

she was at last night's kemp/pence event. and matt brown who has been zeroing in on the purdue candidacy, watching his event last night. great to see both of you. matt, let me start with the way your newspaper put it this morning. trump has signaled that he believes the key to a potential run for president is 2024, is showing he can still shape the gop. how do you read today's primary, particularly as a test of trump's endorsement power? >> absolutely. what we're seeing in the governor's race so far is basically trump put all his energy into what has been dubbed by a lot of republican governors around the country as a bit of a vin debt that tour against current governor brian kemp who has, because of his refusal to overturn the election results of 020, he basically made it so trump was incredibly frustrated with him and put all of his effort into former senator david purdue's campaign to ours him. that hasn't gone as he would have expected. it looks like kemp is probably going to be able to avoid a runoff which will be a huge

he's here because he supports brian kemp and kemp is one of the most conservative governors of in america, providing billions in tax relief, provides hundreds of millions in additional surpluses back to tax payers, provided parents opportunity to know what is going on in their classrooms, one of the first governors to open up with covid, remarkable record of accomplishments for the state of georgia, that's why mike pence is here in the state, supporting somebody with a great record and going to win again. you know, you can read the various quotes whether it's a disgruntaled republican or from taylor, but i think the most important quote that's out there is just stacy abrams two days ago saying georgia is the worst state in the country to live in and she's running for our governor. so that's actually from the candidate herself denouncing and d dennegrading the people of this great state of georgia. i think pence is here because kemp has been a friend, had a great record, and i think he's going to win it decisively on the way to win it again four more years. >> so stacy abrams did say georg

brian kemp knows he doesn't have this.s questions come up, he's like i like them both. >> i had a great relationship with mike pence. i had a great relationship with president trump. i never said anything bad about him. i'm not mad at him. i think he's just mad at me, and that's something i can't control. >> that's pretty honest. i'm not mad at him, he's just mad at me. >> i mean, there's been reporters who have called this with vendetta tour, revenge. that's what this is for donald trump. he's been so invested in georgia. he's been invested in a lot of states but perhaps no state more than georgia. and he took it as a personal affront what brian kemp did. not only did brian kemp and mike pence resist trump's attempts to overturn the election in 2020 and not only are they governors, but that restance has united them. that's also on the ballot to our v voters. there are more and more who think the last election was stolen but are voters going to resist that tomorrow? >> that's a key point in the sense that the big lie has s

i think it was notable that pence, who was campaigning with kemp, said a vote for kemp is a vote forof the republican party. really trying to turn the page on the so-called big lie that has fuelled the candidacy of mo brooks, fuelled the candidacy of david perdue. you have voters in georgia signaling they are set to reject that and to not give any credence to the trump endorsement. of course, the rga has poured money into this race to support david kemp as well. there's no race that former president trump has poured more money, more than $2 million, or personal capital into than this gubernatorial race in georgia. he distanced himself in recent weeks, overnight only calling into an event for david perdue, andrea. >> thanks so much for picking that up. you can join her along with chuck todd for the election night special tonight at 8:00 eastern on nbc news now. >>> joining us now is shannon mccaffrey, sara riggs amico and charlie sykes. shannon, let's talk about georgia and what you see there at the state level with david perdue. is there any way he would get into this runoff? is bria

kemp. opponent, very publicly david perdue. he made kemp one of his prime targets for the midterms. joining us now, patricia murphy. this news broke just this morning. what do you make of it? >> yeah, this is huge news. we have known for a long time that republicans would start to line up behind brian kemp as he heads toward his primary on may 24th. we did not expect for mike pence to be coming in and putting in such a big public show of support for brian kemp. we got the news today and broke the news today that pence will be coming in the day before the primary, he'll do get out the vote valley for brian kemp and that will be in his challenge from against rather daperdue. pence is coming down on the side of brian kemp. >> to remind people why donald trump is going after brian kemp. brian kemp, the republican governor of georgia, refused to do anything special to overturn the results or try to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which donald trump lost in georgia, and trump has never

brian kemp and david perdue. this race also i like the way clear rift between donald trump who endorsed perdue and his former vice president mike pence police very clearly black income. pence walk in a rally, and usually five. >> it was good to be back in georgia so many patriots paving the way for historic republican victory six months where no one will win back the house and the senate and reelect governor brian kemp for four more years in the state house. >> poll showed completing purdue by double digits, which is obviously well ahead of the 50% that's required so voided runoff. trump is set to have this done some self recently from purdue as those poll numbers dropped. but tonight, the former data telephone rally for purdue, where he yet again pushed the false allegations of the 2020 election, calling it frauds, and telling voters this, kemp allowed the georgia election to be rigged and stolen. it he's lying you guys. the candidate trump is supporting as asked whether he will accept the results of thomas jaim

do you think you can work with brian kemp. >> there's no doubt.rk with anyone on the republican side. i think president trump, he's going to want the same thing to happen to this state and to this country. we want to see what's best for both of them. i think there's some bad grapes on both sides. >> reporter: republicans seem to be taking an approach of trying to tie rafael warnock specifically to joe biden. herschel walker had a rally last night, and mentioned joe biden's name three different times. he never mentioned warnock by name. he says he thinking the two of them are the same, but looking ahead that might be a strategy republicans take versus going directly after warnock, as they saw them go in the last election cycle, taking the approach we no he's well liked, but his apologies support and go along with president joe biden, who has an approval rating here that just continue to say decline in this state. hallie? ellison barber, we'll look for more of your coverage. >> emma, you hear ellison mention it will election deniers win? heist has s

he wants to take brian kemp, the incumbent governor, down, because kemp refused to overturn the 2020 election. but as we have seen oftentimes, it is hard to beat an incumbent, especially one who is independently popular with his base, especially one that has former vice president mike pence and much of the republican party establishment lining up behind him. we have a lot to get to today. jeff zeleny and amara walker are standing by in atlanta for us. let's start with yef. what is the latest in this closely watched race for governor? >> well, the campaign has been spending the day trying to urge supporters across the state of georgia to come to the polls on election day. that sounds obvious, but this is why they're making a final push even at this hour, in the final three hours of voting. there's veso much talk about how governor kemp has a wide lead. they're trying to win big. that is more than 50% of the vote to avoid a june runoff election. so i'm told the governor spent some time on the phone today talking to supporters and certainly his volunteers did as well. urging them not to

i think we'll see georgians know brian kemp and they don't need anybody telling them about brian kempl see that he gets the votes tonight and we can turn our attention to stacey abrams. >> so if he doesn't get that nomination tonight, do you think brian kemp will be able to pull over former perdue primary voters and others who still support these election lies? >> i think he will. when it comes down to the november ballots and you're staring at brian kemp over stacey abrams, who loves our government, wants to make sure we're the number one state to do business in. and remembering that brian kemp was the first governor to reopen the state during the covid panic, saving a lot of jobs and a lot of businesses, i don't think republicans, whether they supported david perdue, candace taylor or anyone else will be able to turn this over to stacey abrams and her very left wing liberal agenda. >> looking at the big picture on the state of georgia for a minute, congressman adam kinzinger was just on talking to my colleague jim sciutto. they discussed january 6, and congressman kinzinger said it'

since we have an idea, abrams/kemp, i want to jump on a comment kemp said last night.talked about governor and president. it looks to me, you tell me, it looks like the kemp world knows it's got to get over what grumpy trump supporters there are and the threat of abrams is what brian kemp wants to use. i assume that wasn't an accident what we heard from him last night. >> your right. that wasn't an accident at all. there's been a core central theme to brian kemp's campaign. he and only he can beat stacey abrams because he's the only republican who has beat stacey abrams. david perdue reminds folks couldn't even between john ossoff. that's his argument. her hoping hatred for stacey abrams will overcome any maga backlash that brian kemp could face. it's a big bet, but it's one that republicans have seen for years. they would be railing against these. they hope will motivate a unity sort of faction alliance against stacey abrams in the general. >> so what is the abrams plan to sort of denationalize things? i do think it is deadly for a gubernatorial challenger to get caug

she lost the governor's race to kemp in 2018.ofile help in the final rally of his primary campaign. he was joined on stage by former vice president mike pence. >> i am here to support brian kemp! in tomorrow's republican primary. i can honestly say i was for him before it was cool. >> when you say yes, to governor brian kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message all across america that the republican party is the party of the future. >> that endorsement is not sitting well with trump. who claims he salvaged pences political career when he picked him as running mate in 2016. trump accused pence of parachuting into this years races in a desperate attempt at relevance. >> brian kemp is truly a embarrassment to the republican party because of what has taken place in your great state, georgia. and david will make a massive upgrade as your governor. >> republicans are going after abrams for comments she made over the weekend about the quality of life for georgiaens. >> take a listen. >> i'm tired of hearing about being the best s

kemp has handled himself in a way that most trump supporters would approve of. >> charles: kemp had a party gets back together and a perdue getting behind him as well? >> yeah, i think kemp is running on the things that voters care about. trump took a gamble here that voters are up set by the grievances of 2020. kemp is showing that if you focus on the economy and the culture wars, you can still win without having to indulge in the relitigation of 2020 that has characterized a lot of the most maga campaign since 2020. >> charles: i have to ask you about stacey abrams and those comments. golly. it's like listen, you might think that you're a better governor or a potential governor, but to say it's the worth state? it's the hot estate out there. almost ever know from new york is moving to atlanta. i don't get where she's continuing from to diss her own state like that. >> her political skills have been vastly overrated, this is not the first high profile gaffe that she made. a few months ago she allowed herself to be photographed maskless around young children that were forced to wear m

brian kemp is likely to win. he took on brad raffensperger, the last bastion of integrity, did two recounts, who told the press about the calls he was getting from the former president, donald trump, to try and find these 11,000 votes and change the results of the election. he's been primaried by a trump-supported person. everybody thought he was probably dead in the water as an electoral candidate, but instead he seems to be making a late breaking comeback. it seems like he may end up in a runoff with this guy, better than we thought, and may win outright. you'll see some signs here that people are over it. people are pretty miserable for a lot of reasons right now. joe biden's numbers are in the tank for a reason, inflation is tough, i don't think people really want to relitigate this and i think the results in georgia may underscore that tonight. >> and you hit a point, you talked about joe biden's -- democrats are looking to have a message that goes personally to persons, be it georgia, the five states in the

yep brian kemp republican incumbent who dollar trump does not like after trump helped make kemp career and help them win in the primaries. trump opposes kemp because of kemp didn't go along with what trump was saying about the 2020s election and integrity ofe that election in georgia. david perdue senator who lost in 2020 is challengingo brian kem. most people expect paul suggests brian kemp is going to finish first tonight and is going to get over 50 present needs to avoid a runoff. that's the one everyone is watching because the former president put so much of a personal stake in the race and doesn't seem like it'sn' turning out the waye he wants it to trm a reminder it's 50% plus one vote in georgia welu learned a t about that back in 2020. if that does happen and if brian kemp wins by significant margin what does that say about a donald trump endorsement especially in light of president trump's perhaps mixed record endorsements try to particularly gubernatorial races it doesn't seem like trumpist said the juicy as had another chance of races. trump is issuing endorsements and also

governor brian kemp, the incumbent governor, targeted by donald trump, because brian kemp rightly andbiden in the battleground state that helped propel him to the presidency. donald trump has been telling his lie about the 2020 election ever since and that makes kemp target number one. donald trump may be in for a big loss here tomorrow if the pre-election polls are correct. you mentioned the trump versus pence factor. tonight pence has that rally for kemp, trump is holding a tell-rally for perdue. as you know, they are on other sides of this. they're trying to carve out their own political turf inside the republican primary in advance of 2024. look at this statement from donald trump spokesperson today to "the new york times" about mike pence. now, desperate to chase his lost relevance, pence is parachuting to races hoping someone is paying attention. that's pretty direct and insnid. so no love lost despite pence's loyalty to donald trump. the other thing we're watching are early voting turnout records. take a look on the republican side, pre-election primary votes cast thus far, in

. >> brian kemp is a turncoat. he's a coward, and is a complete and total disaster. >> as republicans prepared to go to the polls in georgia, it's trump versus pence. the former president, backing one candidate for governor, the former vice president backing another. tonight, the future of democracy in georgia is on the ballot. and why for trump, it's personal. >> i just want to find 11,780 votes. >> the impact of the threat to abortion, as texans head to the polls. and news tonight the january six committee will only hold six public hearings next month. committee member, jamie raskin, i'll ask him about that. all in starts right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. or just 11 hours away from polls opening in tomorrow's crucial primary electorate in georgia. and the two marquee races that republican primaries for governor, and for secretary of state. to trump back candidates are essentially running single issue campaigns, on the ex presidents big lie of a stolen election. you've got former sen

who trump convinced to challenge kemp.on. >> brian kemp is a turn-coat, a coward, and a complete and total disaster. >> kemp has repeatedly declined to engage, as he did again today on a call with reporters. >> i have never said anything bad about him. i don't plan on doing that. i'm not mad at him. i think he's just mad at me, and that's something that i can't control. >> his campaign has not been about trump, but rather focused on a potential rematch with stacey abrams who is running unopposed in the democratic pri primary. heading into election day, more than 807,000 people have already cast their votes. voting rights is at the center of the debate. many republicans have made it clear they're eager to look forward. >> he can't get over the fact he couldn't tell brian kemp want to do in georgia. >> trump's obsession with narrowly losing georgia has loomed large, up and down the georgia primary ballot. he endorsed jody heist to challenge brad raffensperger. >> jody is running against one of the worst staits in america, br

he just did not want kemp to win. that david perdue could essentially have in this race. so when you look forward, about whether or not he would tendors kemp, no word on that yet, but when you look at the senate race, you have the herschel walker senate race. so no doubt, this is going to be closely watched. >> as long as democrats can repeat in 2024 a georgia win, i don't know, but you do have to look at states like ohio, where trump has made a difference in the primary. and pennsylvania, where trump has made a difference in the primary. and those states are real swing states, and both the midterms and in the presidential election. so you know, this guy is not going away, but i think the message is that he is not the entire party. you can win around him. >> you can make the argument his senate picks have been much better than his gubernatorial picks. herschel walker, he cleared the field, he won. >> he's also herschel walker. >> a heisman trophy winner, but that's going to be a tough race. dr. oz, at least as of now,

the latest poll kinds kemp with a massive lead over perdue and that likely victory for kemp will signalng the 2020 election. kemp, who trump has blamed for his 2020 loss more than any other person, famously defied the president's wishes to overturn the results in georgia. perdue, on the other hand, who was picked by the former president to challenge kemp, has centered his campaign on 2020 election lies and grievances. this race in georgia, the culmination of an effort by republican governors to defend against trump's personal venn da vendetta tour. "washington post" finds this, quote, to protect incumbents up for re-election this year, the republican governors association decided to spend millions of dollars in primaries, an unusual step for an organization that typically reserves its cash for general election matchups against democrats. "the post" goes on to describe the divide within the republican party that the former president has fueled. "the clash has brought into focus an extraordinary battle over the gop that extends well beyond georgia. on one side, an aggrieved former preside

what are their closing messages going to be and how is it looking for kemp? we mentioned he was above 50% in the most recent polling. >> unless the polling is completely wrong, it looks like kemp is on his way to a victory. it shows a lead over perdue. i think what's notable is what we're not going to hear from kemp and that's any criticism of president trump. it's something he's been doing all along the way. he's not been talking about trump. he's not talked about 2020 and he underscored that point today in the call with with reporters saying he's not going to criticize the former president. he's going to keep doing what he's been doing all along, which is running on his record. that is a vastly different approach than what we have seen from david perdue, who has pinned his entire campaign on 2020 and trying to cast governor kemp as the enemy, the villain that comes out of 2020. now i do think what we'll hear from both is this kind of shared message that both are going to be the best candidate to beat stacey a brams in november but he's looking past november

kemp's refusal to change the results of georgia's 2020 election. >> brian kemp is a turncoat he's a coward disaster. >> reporter: kemp's defiance of trump upset some voters we spoke to. >> i will not vote for brian kemp under any circumstances. >> reporter: but impresses others. >> we want a strong conservative leader here for georgia and brian kemp is the best person for that. >> reporter: perdue has repeatedly touted trump's lies about a stolen election and slumps in the polls. he slammed likely gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams for criticizing georgia's poor ranking and maternal mortality and incarceration rates. >> she said just this weekend it's the worst state in the country in which to live. she's not from here. my inclination is to say, if you don't like it, go back to where you came from. >> reporter: today, abrams who has lived in the state since high school, responded. >> i have listened to republicans for the last six months attack me, but they've done nothing to attack the challenges facing georgia. >> reporter: one of former president trump's preferred candidates who is e

brian kemp, the incumbent governor is at 60%.ing supported by president trump's former vice president mike pence. so tell me what you think about the served here for kemp given trump's endorst? >> ronna: president trump has endorsed in 84 races, his won 81. that's like an a+. just a note, joe biden is not being asked to endorse in any race because no democrat wants to be seen with him, including stacey abrams, who is running in georgia. i talked to people in georgia who love president trump and like kemp. i think that's what you're seeing in some of the voters in georgia, but we are going to see what happens on tuesday. the votes haven't been counted, kemp needs to pass a 50% threshold to win the nomination outright and we will see what happens then. >> martha: do you think it was a mistake for the former president to kind of coax david perdue to run for governor? >> ronna: david perdue is perfectly capable of making his own choices. and president trump obviously has gotten involved. in the power of his endorsement is astounding.

that's what brian kemp has been doing as well. but listen to the words carefully from former vice president mike pence last night at a rally here as he talked about the future of the republican party. >> when you say yes to governor brian kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message all across america that the republican party is the party of the future. >> the future is the keyword. much of this race has been in the past. just a quick refresher course for people who haven't been following this as closely as georgians have. the whole reason that former president trump has been angry at governor brian kemp is because he voted to certify the 2020 election that showed president trump narrowly losing to joe biden. he lost the race, and ever since then the former president has been really had this grudge against governor kemp. but as we head into the really second half of election day here, hours left to vote, there is a sense on the ground here that this could be one of the biggest defeats yet of the former president. he's been al

bigger than brian kemp.re of our country. >> stacey abrams dissparges the state she wants to lead. >> i'm tired of hearing we are the best state in the country when this is the worst place to live. >> why are you running for governor if this is the worst place to live? >> the white house

kemp: no, it does not frustrate me being governor of georgia.is the greatest state in the country to live, work and raise our families. people have their individual views. that's part of the primary process. i have been involved in those william: kemp's defense of the 2020 election seemingly hasn't hurt his campaign. he's currently well ahead in the polls, and many of his supporters welcome his move away from the conspiracy. holly gardner, georgia voter: well, i'm going to be very honest with you. i don't think the election was stolen. william: holly gardner is a retired school principal. she says she doesn't quite understand the grip trump still has on so many in her party. holly: it's like a cult, a cult that i don't want to be a part i don't -- i don't understand it. i really don't. cai n't imagsoine meone having that much influence on me as an american voter. william: shane mumma is the head of college republicans at vanderbilt university and a big kemp supporter. >> this is the man our party should support. and i think it's childish that th

what would it mean if there is a win after tomorrow night from kemp, et cetera? >> it depends on who you talk to. wednesday morning will be interesting, because everyone will be spinning from all sides. the former president has endorsed 13 candidates, and we're all going to be trying to read the tea leaves of what this means, and what is it going to mean in the fall? bringing all the voters back. georgia is so close that the candidates for senate and governor are going to need every single vote, including those trump voters who may not have supported governor kemp. >> there's also, we talk about the governor's race here, there's stacey abrams, who is the woman kemp would face, said something about the state, and it was important for us to play the full context of her remarks here, because that is what matters. i want to play that. >> i am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live. when you're number 48 for mental health, when you're number one for maternal mortality, when you have

we want a strong leader for georgia and brian kemp is the best perso best. perdue stirred controversy monday night, slamming gubernorialandidate stacey abrams for criticizing georgia's poor rankings on infant mortality. >> she said it's the worst state in the country in which to live. she is not from here. my inclination is to say look, you don't like it, go back to where you came from. >> reporter: today, abrams, who has lived here since high school, responded. >> i have listened to republicans for the last six months attack me, but they've done nothing to attack the challenges facing georgia. >> reporter: one of president trump's preferred candidates who did win tonight is herschel walker, the college football star now poised to face off for senate control with raphael warnock. >> ed o'keefe in atlanta, thanks. >>> a second air force cargo plane loaded with formula from germany is expected to arrive in virginia tomorrow and will be greeted by first lady jill biden and the surgeon general. here is cbs'ing me oliver. >> reporter: all eyes are on this nestle

, it's almost a motivating force. >> yeah, okay, so governor kasic, kemp has gotten big endorsementsrepublican establishment, bush, former vice-president pence, chris christi, to be clear, he's backed by trump, so what happens at this point, if purdue loses against kemp does this damage trump's endorsement at all? >> well i think it's pretty clear as i said earlier, erin. if you are incumbent and people know you and quite like and are doing a decent job, it's very hard for donald trump to come in and disrupt. if you have like five or six people in the race and nobody knows who they are like we saw across the country, then i think an endorsement by trump or even endorsement by a republican party can make a difference. but, you know, i think this holds out. now let's just assume that in places where there's a scramble and one of trump's candidates wins okay, like in pennsylvania, the race for governor, i think it's really an open question as to whether that person can win in the fall. so, you know, it's, you have mixed results but i think what i've just laid out is a formula that can a

is he in georgia to stump for kemp.trump today who called pence's visit here a desperate attempt to try to stay relevant. sources close to the former vice president tell me they don't expect him to respond tonight. instead, trying to keep a focus on brian kemp. bret? >> bret: real quick, mark. all that concern about state law about voting. what you are saying now is as of now, this is record early voter turnout in this race? >> record turnout not only from 2020 but also compared to 2018. the turnout was unbelievable. the campaigns told us they were blown away by how much people were early voting. now whether or not people show up tomorrow that's a big question. terrible weather today. bad weather tomorrow, bret, it's possible turnout will be low. we will find out for sure in 24 hours. >> bret: mark meredith in georgia. see what major league baseball has to say about all all of that after the all-star game move. $4.60 a gallon today that came as president biden says the u.s. is going through, quote: incredible transition

trump calling kemp a coward. >> brian kemp is truly an embarrassment to the republican party because of what's taken place in your great state of georgia. >> reporter: but polls show kemp holding a big lead. the winner takes on democrat stacey abrams in december. >> i'm here because brian kemp is the only candidate in tomorrow's primary who has already defeated stacey abrams, whether she knows it or not. >> reporter: pence praising kemp for his focus on jobs while slamming abrams for this statement she made criticizing her home state. >> i am tired of hearing how we're the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live. let me contextualize. when you're number 48 for mental health, when you're number one for maternal mortality, when you have incarceration rates that are on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the number one place to live. >> reporter: also today georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger who famously during a phone call in january 2021 refused to find former president trump more votes faces cha

kemp seems to be really holding onto the momentum.tially is because he is in the job already. for instance, he's holding events, big announcement this week about economic development. that is not officially a campaign event, but it might as well be. and so perdue has had some challenges in gaining ground. but still a few days left for both to continue to make their case to voters. boris? >> i'll take it. thanks so much,. let's talk about georgia and what's going to happen on tuesday. here to discuss is tia mitchell. thank you so much for coming in early. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> as we were saying the gop primary here in georgia is going to be a very high stakes race especially for trump, right, who's endorsed david perdue. just look at the latest fox polling and it shows that kemp is ahead by 60% compared to just 28% for perdue. explain to our viewers out there what actually is going on because kemp is someone who's been relentlessly attacked by trump, yet he's ahead, way ahead. >> yeah, so part of what's happened is t

that's incumbent brian kemp. he's trump's number one target in what some even republicans call president trump's vendetta tour, meaning a mission to bring down republicans who refuse to go along with his 2020 election lies. trump endorsed kemp rival, david perdue and headlined a telerally for him yesterday on the same day that former vice president mike pence stumped with kemp in georgia. >> when you say yes to governor brian kemp tomorrow, you will send a deafening message all across america that the republican party is the party of the future. >> david is the only candidate who can beat stacey abrams because i don't believe kemp can do it. he's got too many people in the republican party that will refuse to vote. they're not going to go out after what they did to two senators and to a presidential election. >> let's go to atlanta now. eva mckend is there. former senator david perdue is facing controversy over comments he made, not about brian kemp but the democrat to beat in this race, stacey abrams. >> reporte