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Nov. 4, 2018 / 7:40 PM GMT
By Lauren Egan
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump praised Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, saying on Sunday that his campaign has been “extraordinary.”
“He studied for this job for a longtime. He will be a great executive and he will keep Georgia on the path it is going, which is up,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a campaign rally with Kemp in Macon, Georgia.
Kemp is running in a close race against Democrat Stacey Abrams for the governor’s seat. Abrams would be the first black woman to be elected governor in the state if she wins.
Voter rights and suppression has been front and center of the Georgia race. Kemp has come under fire from Democrats for allegedly suppressing minority votes in his role as secretary of state. And Kemp Sunday accused the state Democratic Party of an attempted hack of the voter registration system. The Democratic Party called Kemp’s accusations, for which he provided no evidence or specifics, a “political stunt.”
“If she gets in, Georgia goes backwards,” Trump said. “If he gets in, Georgia goes forward.”
Trump also expressed confidence in GOP enthusiasm just two days before the midterm election on Tuesday.
“I have never seen such an enthusiastic Republican Party,” Trump told reporters. “The level of fervor, the level of fever is very strong on the Republican side.”
Trump will campaign with Kemp Sunday afternoon before he heads to Tennessee for another midterm rally last Sunday for Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn.