During a multi-stop campaign swing through Northeast Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp pointed to the state's pandemic response as an example of successful leadership.
"We have come all the way back," Kemp said. "We have the most people ever working in the history of the state...and it's because people in Gainesville and Northeast Georgia and all across the state have been resilient."
With Georgia's unemployment rate at 2.6 percent, Kemp said this is further proof that his policy of "protecting lives and livelihoods" is working. "We have taken the tact that we're going to trust people to help us fight through this more than just looking to the government for answers," Kemp told his supporters.
In 2020, former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Kemp's challenger David Perdue, won Hall County with 71 percent of the vote.
Last week, a poll showed Kemp ahead of Perdue 49 to 40 percent.
"This is Kemp country," said Rep. Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville). "What I'm hearing from my supporters is that the constituents of Hall County are overwhelmingly supportive of Governor Kemp."
Kemp told reporters he believes voters do not feel a conflict of loyalties. "There's a lot of diehard Trump supporters that are diehard Kemp supporters, and those are the people we're talking to every day," he said.
Kemp said he's not concerned with what he called "noise" from inside and outside the state. "I can't control what the former president says; I can't control what other people are doing that are running against me," he stated. "I'm focused on what Georgians want and what they need and fulfilling the promises that I campaigned on in 2017."
Several local political leaders attended the event, including Rep. Emory Dunahoo Jr. and Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon.
"Everything he has promised, I've watched mature, I've watched come about," Dunahoo told the crowd.
Judge Frank McKay with the State Board of Worker's Compensation said he supports the governor because of his role in recent legal battles against opioid companies. "He has done an excellent job in leading that fight," McKay said. "Some of those settlement dollars are going directly to help the victims of opioid addiction throughout the state of Georgia."
Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum believes the governor cares about law enforcement. She felt this first-hand after the death of Deputy Lana Marshall in November 2021. "Governor Kemp was the first call I got," Mangum said. "I'll always support Governor Kemp, First Lady Kemp, and their girls in whatever they're doing."
The governor told the crowd he is not taking any support for granted, "We're excited to be able to remind people about the record that I have," Kemp said. "I'm fighting every day for what Georgians want."
