2022 Georgia gubernatorial election

The 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022 to elect the governor of Georgia. Incumbent Republican governor Brian Kemp won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams in a rematch. Abrams conceded on election night. The primary occurred on May 24, 2022. Kemp was sworn in for a second term on January 9, 2023.

Kemp was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and former president George W. Bush. He faced a primary challenge from former U.S. Senator David Perdue, who was endorsed by former president Donald Trump after Kemp refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump ultimately gave Kemp a last-minute endorsement in the general election.

Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and founder of Fair Fight Action who was narrowly defeated by Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election, was once again the Democratic nominee for the governorship. This was Georgia's first gubernatorial rematch since 1950.

Libertarian Shane T. Hazel, the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, also declared he would run. This race was one of six Republican-held governorships up for election in 2022 in a state carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Kemp won his first term by a narrow 55,000-vote margin (1.4%) in 2018, which was Georgia's closest gubernatorial election since 1966. In 2022, however, pre-election forecasting showed a solid lead for Kemp throughout and he ultimately won re-election by nearly 300,000 votes (7.5%) - the largest raw vote victory for a Georgia governor since 2006. The race was seen as a potential benefit to Herschel Walker, who ran in the concurrent Senate race, as it was speculated Kemp's strong performance could help Walker avoid a runoff. He underperformed compared to Kemp, however, and narrowly lost to incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock in the December 6 runoff election.

Republican primary

Incumbent governor Brian Kemp faced criticism from former president Donald Trump for his refusal to overturn the results of the 2020 United States presidential election. Kemp was booed at the Georgia Republican Convention in June 2021, and in December former senator David Perdue announced a primary challenge to Kemp and was promptly endorsed by Trump. Initial polling showed a competitive race, however, Kemp significantly outraised his opponent and signed conservative legislation such as permitless carry of firearms and a temporary suspension of the gas tax that shored up his position among voters, and on election day, he won by over 50 points, a margin far larger than predicted.

Candidates

Nominee

• Brian Kemp, incumbent governor (2019–present) and former secretary of state of Georgia (2010–2018)

Eliminated in primary

• Catherine Davis, HR professional
• David Perdue, former U.S. senator from Georgia (2015–2021)
• Kandiss Taylor, conservative commentator, host of the "Jesus, Guns, and Babies" show, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020
• Tom Williams, civil service retiree

Withdrawn

• Vernon Jones, former state representative (1993–2001, 2017–2021, Democratic until 2020) and CEO of DeKalb County (2001–2009) (endorsed Perdue) (ran for U.S. House in GA-10)

Declined

• Doug Collins, former U.S. representative for Georgia's 9th congressional district (2013–2021) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020
• Herschel Walker, former American football player (running for U.S. Senate)

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight Action, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives (2011–2017) and nominee for governor in 2018

Declined

• Kasim Reed, former mayor of Atlanta (2010–2018) (ran for mayor)

Endorsements

Results

Independent and third-party candidates

Declared

• Al Bartell (independent), businessman, U.S. Air Force veteran, and perennial candidate
• Shane T. Hazel (Libertarian), radio host, Republican candidate for Georgia's 7th congressional district in 2018, and Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020

General election

Predictions

Debates

Endorsements

Polling

Aggregate polls

Graphical summary

Results

By county

By congressional district

Kemp won 9 of 14 congressional districts.

See also

• Elections in Georgia
• Political party strength in Georgia
• Georgia Democratic Party
• Georgia Republican Party
• Government of Georgia (U.S. state)
• 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia
• 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia
• 2022 Georgia House of Representatives election
• 2022 Georgia State Senate election
• 2022 Georgia state elections
• 2022 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2022 United States elections

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official campaign websites

• Stacey Abrams (D) for Governor
• Al Bartell (I) for Governor
• Shane T. Hazel (L) for Governor
• Brian Kemp (R) for Governor