David Perdue takes steps to run against Warnock in 2022

ATLANTA, Ga – The 2022 U.S. Senate race starts heating up with former U.S. Senator David Perdue (R – Ga) filing paperwork to potentially run against Senator Raphael Warnock (D – Ga).

The former senator, who lost his runoff against Jon Ossoff on January 5, established the “Perdue for Senate” campaign on Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

This move doesn’t necessarily mean Perdue will enter the race, and Fox News is reporting, he will decide in the coming weeks. However, the conservative news outlet also indicates Perdue is leaning toward running.

If Perdue runs against Warnock, it leaves another prominent Georgia Republican and former Ninth District Representative Doug Collins in an interesting position. Sources say Collins’ also considering another Senate bid in 2022. 

In a jungle primary, Collins came in third against Warnock and former Senator Kelly Loeffler (R). Warnock later beat Loeffler in the runoff.

Related: Doug Collins will appear on BKP Politics on Tuesday, February 16 at 8 a.m.

Perdue won his Senate seat in 2014 and quickly aligned himself with President Trump in 2016. The President has strongly indicated that he would be involved in the Georgia 2022 elections following Governor Brian Kemp’s refusal to overturn the election.

Ossoff received 50.6 percent of the vote in the runoff to 49.4 percent for Perdue. On November 3, Perdue led Ossoff before dropping below 50 percent to push the race to a runoff.

Warnock and Ossoff’s wins handed the Senate control over to the Democrats, with 50 Senators and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) serving as the tie-breaking vote.

2022 will see Georgia become a political hotbed once again with Governor Brian Kemp (R), Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan (R), and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) up for reelection. Many in the Republican Party aren’t happy with the incumbents following the November 3 election. Trump’s stated he intends to find primary candidates against Kemp at least. Politicos look for Stacey Abrams (D) to run against Kemp in the general election as a 2018 rematch.