GOP gubernatorial candidate David Perdue calls for new election police unit in Georgia

By CNN Newsource

Published January 20, 2022 6:13 AM

By Dan Merica, CNN

Republican gubernatorial candidate David Perdue on Thursday called for the creation of an election police unit in Georgia, echoing a proposal by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and continuing Perdue’s focus on election falsehoods.

Perdue’s plan would create “an Election Law Enforcement Division in the State of Georgia” that would “be charged with enforcing election laws, investigating election crimes and fraud, and arresting those who commit these offenses,” according to a release from his campaign. Perdue’s plan also called for “election results to be independently audited before certification.”

Perdue, a former senator who lost his seat to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in a runoff election last year, has made election falsehoods a central argument in his bid to unseat fellow Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the gubernatorial primary.

After former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he turned on Republicans in states that he lost, including Georgia, using his false claims about the election to turn his loyal supporters against the Republican elected officials. Kemp was a chief Trump target, and the former President has now endorsed Perdue’s bid to unseat him.

“I’ll do what Brian Kemp has failed to do,” Perdue says in his statement. “I’ll make Georgia elections the safest and securest in the country.”

DeSantis has proposed the creation of a dedicated police force to investigate election fraud, alarming voting rights advocates, local election officials and Democrats in the state.