The battle for the Republican nomination to be Georgia’s governor saw its first on-screen debate between the candidates on Sunday night, offering a window into the bitter divide between establishment Republicans and loyalists to former President Donald Trump.

In the first of three scheduled Republican primary debates, incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp faced off with his rival, former Sen. David Perdue, on stage in a debate that at times appeared to revolve at more around the past than the future -- specifically the 2020 presidential election.

Perdue opened the debate by repeating the debunked conspiracy theory that the election was “rigged and stolen.” Kemp, who refused to de-certify the victory of then-candidate Joe Biden despite pressure from Trump and his allies to do so, was accused by Perdue of allowing “radical Democrats to steal our election.”

Kemp countered that, as a former top election official in Georgia, he was merely following the law. Continuing his riposte, the governor said Georgia voters should back a candidate with a track record of winning over losing as Perdue did in a run-off to Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in January 2021.

“I was Secretary of State for eight years," Kemp said. “ I don't need to be lectured by someone that lost their last election about what our voting laws are and who has responsibilities for those in our state.”

The sharp attacks exchanged between Republicans underscore a wider conflict between traditional and pro-Trump Republicans, who wavered in their support for him after losing to Biden and the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. At the same time, Georgia’s governor race and midterms carry with them a chance for Trump to punish those he holds accountable for his defeat.

Beyond Perdue, Trump has backed former football star Herschel Walker in the Senate race to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. Meanwhile, Trump has also thrown his support behind Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., in her race to defeat another Republican official reviled by the former president, Secretary of State Brad Raffesburger.

The urgency attached to Georgia's intra-Republican civil war has been further demonstrated by the breaking of earlier norms in fundraising by GOP leaders and Trump himself.

In February, Kemp began to receive direct support by the Republican Governors Association (RGA), which took out a $500,000 ad touting his record over the last four years. The RGA is known primarily to back its incumbents in general elections, but this move was done for the sake of buttressing a member against a fellow Republican for the first time.

On Perdue’s end, Trump’s investment in him carries immense pressure to settle a score over Kemp’s defiance. Trump cut his first check from his own political war chest to a Perdue-friendly super PAC on April 13. The former president has also traveled to Georgia for rallies for Perdue and to rail against Kemp over the 2020 election.

Despite Trump’s political capital, Perdue remains behind Kemp in every available poll, according to RealClearPolitics.

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