Brian Kemp raised $3.8 million in 2 months in Stacey Abrams rematch
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's campaign has raised $3.8 million over the past two months in his high-profile rematch against Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, according to his campaign.
- A new PAC the Republican incumbent controls has also brought in $3 million during the same timeframe, for a $6.8 million total.
- $1.4 million of the money the PAC reported came from primary runoff funds already raised by the campaign.
Why it matters: The haul reflects the dynamics at play in this election, compared with Kemp and Abrams' 2018 matchup. At this point in 2018, Kemp was still in a tough primary runoff, with $2.9 million cash on hand.
- This year, he reported having about $7 million in cash on hand between the campaign and the committee. He defeated his primary opponent, former Sen. David Perdue, with more than 70% of the vote.
The big picture: Kemp's campaign hired former vice president Mike Pence's former top aide Marc Short to help with national fundraising, and former president George W. Bush hosted an event for Kemp this spring.
- An average of polls currently show Kemp about five points ahead of Abrams.
Of note: The campaign's complete finance report, including geographic data, will not be available for a few days.
The other side: Abrams, who has already posted massive fundraising numbers since joining the race in December, has not released her latest report.
Catch up quick: Kemp in May reported bringing in $2.7 million during the month of April and had $10.7 million cash on hand. Abrams brought in $11.7 million over three months, with more than $8 million cash on hand.
The intrigue: Kemp's leadership committee, Georgians First, also reported raising $3 million during the same time, with $650,000 cash on hand. This new PAC's structure was created by the General Assembly last year for use by the incumbent governor, lieutenant governor, party nominees and majority and minority caucuses.
- These committees are not subject to standard campaign finance regulations, including contribution limits and a prohibition against coordination between candidates and political action committees.
- Abrams created her own leadership committee, One Georgia, which has also not yet released its campaign finance numbers.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include that $1.4 million of the leadership committee contributions came from Kemp’s campaign.
