PHOTOS, STORY, by Robin Postell
VALDOSTA – On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, Secretary of State and candidate for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp stopped briefly at the GOP headquarters on Bemiss Road.
If Kemp wins he will be the 83rd Georgia governor.
Abrams will be the first African-American woman governor.
In attendance were Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk, Senator Ellis Black, Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods, Attorney General Chris Carr, DOL Secy Mark Butler, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, Ag Commissioner Gary Black, and Representatives Austin Scott, John LaHood, and John Corbett, and scores of supporters.
On his “Road to Victory” bus tour, Kemp met a roused group of devoted and ardent supporters gathered an hour ahead of his scheduled 5:30 p.m. arrival.
Kemp and his opponent Stacy Abrams are in the throes of a heated gubernatorial rivalry.
Representative Austin Scott spoke, “Did you ever think we’d be seeing possible peace in Korea?” The crowd rumbled, hollered “Amen!,” a recurring mantra. “We’ve got a job to do over the next few days. We have to maintain the House.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr spoke next, “Dogs beat the Gators, Dogs gonna win the East, and when we elect Kemp for Governor…”
The crowd went wild.
“For 16 years our state has been a leader in business,” Carr added, hearkening back to the days of Sonny Perdue, “The first Republican governor since Reconstruction.”
Next was Jeff Duncan, running for Lt. Governor. “We need you to grab your neighbors and ask them to vote,” he said. “We have to fight for our values, the qualities that are worth fighting for. Sorros and Bloomberg will never want to send money to Georgia ever again!”
Another vociferous “Amen!” erupted from the crowd, signs waved furiously.
Kemp opened his speech up by talking about what Stacy Abrams will not be doing – saying “Her healthcare plan isn’t about expanding Medicaid,” but ramping up her “radical” plan of socialism.
Kemp said, “We will give teachers $5,000 a year pay raise.”
“We need your help,” Kemp said. “The other side is motivated. They’re working hard. Don’t trust the polls…you are the polls.”
