By Alexandra Ulmer
ATLANTA (Reuters) -Georgia Republicans are expected to reject Donald Trump's campaign to oust Governor Brian Kemp in Tuesday's primary election, though polls show they are likely to back the former football star he has endorsed in their U.S. Senate primary.
The former president has backed primary challenges to Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for rejecting his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, which he falsely claims was the result of widespread fraud.
While polls show Kemp with a strong lead and Raffensperger locked in a close race, another Trump endorsee, former football great Herschel Walker, looks set to easily snag the Republican nomination to run for U.S. Senate. Some party leaders worry his controversial past could doom his chances in the November midterm elections.
Republicans are expected to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 8, though polls and nonpartisan political ratings agencies suggest Democrats have a better chance of holding onto their razor-thin majority in the Senate.
The loss of either chamber would bring President Joe Biden's legislative agenda to a halt and give Republicans the power to launch distracting and potentially politically damaging investigations.
Trump has made more than 190 endorsements since leaving office, most of which are for incumbent Republicans who face no serious primary opposition. While propelling some candidates in close contests to victory, his endorsement has at times fallen short. Trump's pick for Nebraska governor, who was accused of groping multiple women, lost his primary race. His nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is in a race still too close to call a week after voting.
Opinion polls show Georgia incumbent Kemp well above the 50% threshold required to win the nomination outright and avoid a run-off against Trump's hand-picked challenger, former U.S. Senator David Perdue, who has repeated Trump's falsehoods about losing Georgia due to widespread voter fraud.
Mike Pence, who was Trump's vice president, urged voters not to dwell on the past when he campaigned for Kemp on Monday, speaking at a rally in Kennesaw, Georgia.
"Elections are about the future. There are those who want to make this election about the past," Pence said. "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."
Echoing other Kemp supporters, Brian Seifried, 52, a retired tech sales executive, said in an interview in Atlanta that he liked Kemp's pro-business policies, his hard line on immigration, and his move to enact a sweeping set of voting restrictions after the 2020 election, even as he rebuffed pressure from Trump to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results.
"I was already a supporter of Kemp. I did not consider Perdue at all. President Trump’s endorsement did not have any sway over what I think is best for Georgia," Seifried said.