45th President Donald Trump’s endorsements had a massive impact on groups of likely Republican voters recently polled by two groups, with one candidate receiving a 43-point surge in support among voters who knew he was Trump’s pick.
In one poll released earlier this week from the University of Georgia School of Public & International Affairs, every Republican candidate who Trump endorsed received a boost in support.
That support may be most important for Trump-endorsed former Sen. David Perdue, who is running against current Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to take on Democrat juggernaut Stacey Abrams in the general election this November.
Kemp made himself an enemy of Trump when he refused to help the 45th President contest the results of the 2020 election despite what critics say is credible evidence of widespread voter fraud.
47.9% of voters unaware of Trump’s endorsement supported Kemp. This shrunk to 46.2% for those who knew Trump endorsed Perdue. This could force Kemp into a runoff election, in which only the top two candidates move forward. Many say this is Perdue’s best bet at unseating the Georgia governor.
Meanwhile, other candidates saw even bigger boosts from Trump’s endorsement.
Herschel Walker, Trump’s pick for the U.S. Senate, went from 64.3% to 76%. Burt Jones, Trump’s pick for Lt. Governor, went from 29.7% to 58.9%.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a key Kemp ally, already lagged behind his opponent, Rep. Jody Hice, with only 22.7% of the vote compared to Hice’s 30.3%. When voters learned that Hice was endorsed by Trump, however, his share of the vote went up to 60.3%.
The most stunning example of the Trump boost in Georgia comes from that state’s race for the Republican nomination for Insurance Commissioner.
Among likely voters who did not know Trump picked, Patrick Witt, he received only 8.3% of the vote, with 71.4% of voters undecided. Kemp appointee John King was in the lead with around 10%.
When voters learned Trump endorsed Witt, however, his share of support swung to 51.8%, generating a 43.5-point change.
Atlanta Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley had one criticism for the poll that showed many of her preferred candidates ahead or within striking distance of winning when speaking to Valiant News: The pollsters only contacted likely Republican primary voters.
Dooley said that Republican voters who typically only vote in the general election are going to turn out in record numbers to unseat Kemp.
“I’m hearing from people all over the state,” said Dooley. “One person told me they would crawl through broken glass to vote in the primary if it means getting rid of Kemp.”
She added that “at least 15%” of the Republican will refuse to vote for Kemp in a race with him against Stacey Abrams. Grassroots Republicans, according to Dooley, say that Kemp’s lack of support for election integrity means “a vote for Brian Kemp is a vote for Stacey Abrams.”
“You never reward betrayal,” Dooley explained, describing the mood of grassroots Republicans. Some, Dooley said, now consider themselves “Never Kemp Republicans.”
Similar results were seen in a Remington Research Group poll covered by Breitbart yesterday. It showed Trump-endorsed Vernon Jones, the former Democrat who left the party to embrace the pro-Trump wing of the GOP, four points ahead of opponent Mike Collins in the race for the Republican nomination to represent Georgia’s 10th District.
Jones is at 20%, while Collins is at 16%. 25% of voters said they were still undecided.
This comes despite Jones entering the race late, having previously announced a campaign for governor. He left that race at Trump’s request, to make room for Perdue, and received Trump’s endorsement immediately after announcing his run for the U.S. House.
Earlier this month, Valiant News reported that Collins received a $920,000 PPP loan before loaning his campaign $465,000.
When asked for comment about this loan, and whether it was paid back or forgiven, Collins did not answer.
This article was updated to clarify comments made by Debbie Dooley.
