ATLANTA— Georgia’s 2022 race for governor is poised to be highly contentious with three Republicans vying to challenge Democrat mogul Stacey Abrams in November.

Former Sen. David Perdue’s Monday announcement entering the race launched a frenzy among politicians across the state, as reactions among both Republicans and Democrats implied his decision to run could hurt the fate of Republicans.

“Georgia, we are set up to reprise our role in the center of political drama and intrigue in 2020,” said Elena Parent, chair of Georgia Senate Democrats, following news of Perdue’s intent to seek the governor’s mansion.

The 2022 gubernatorial race could be the second time Gov. Brian Kemp will face Abrams, who lost to him by just under 55,000 votes in 2018. Former Democrat State Rep. Vernon Jones — who had endorsed former Republican President Donald Trump in 2020 — also announced his intent earlier this year to run as a Republican.

Perdue said in his announcement Monday he is running for governor to save Georgia and defeat Abrams, who is credited for increasing voter turnout and flipping Georgia blue in 2020 through her nonprofit, Fair Fight.

Perdue blamed Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for Georgia being “divided” by refusing to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results when the state elected Democrat President Joe Biden over Trump. He also blamed the Republican duo for the GOP’s loss of two U.S. Senate seats that were won by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.

“(Kemp) has failed all of us and cannot win in November,” Perdue said in his announcement video. “Instead of protecting our elections, he caved to Abrams and cost us two Senate seats … think about how different it would be if Kemp had fought Abrams first instead of fighting Trump.”

Perdue, who was defeated by Ossoff in a January runoff for one of Georgia’s congressional seats, received Trump’s endorsement Monday.

“David was a great senator and he truly loves his state and his country,” Trump said. “I can’t imagine that Brian Kemp, who has hurt election integrity in Georgia so badly, can do well at the ballot box (unless the election is rigged, of course). He cost us two Senate seats and a presidential victory in the great state of Georgia.”

Dalton Republican State Rep. Kasey Carpenter said Perdue entering the race will likely lead to a victory for Abrams.

“If Perdue can’t beat Ossoff, there is no way he can beat Stacey,” Carpenter said on Facebook. “It is time for Republicans to wake up and see that they are being played. I proudly voted for Trump both times and really believe he would have won if he had kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, his ego would not allow it and now his ego is determined to hand over the state of Georgia to the Democrats.”

State Sen. Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga in North Georgia, plans to support Kemp and voiced opposition to any claims against election deceit in prior elections.

“We wanted Trump to be president but I don’t see any proof of fraud in Georgia. Kemp has already won once in the statewide election. And then Purdue has won one and lost one,” Tarvin said. “I feel like Kemp’s got the same opportunity to win as he did the last time. I don’t know why change governors when everything in the state is going good.”

South Georgia Rep. Russ Goodman, R-Homerville, on Twitter also appears to be backing Kemp, stating “country folks” know what “a good man (is) supposed to look like and Governor Kemp is a good man!”

State Sen. Burt Jones, whose district lies in middle Georgia, did not specifically say who he planned to support as he focuses on his own lieutenant governor race; however, many of his priorities align with those mentioned in Perdue’s campaign video: eliminating state income tax, increasing safety throughout the state, addressing election issues and putting parents in charge of schools.

“I’m interested in getting the confidence back into our elections process. I am also interested in making sure that our K through 12 education system is about parents and classroom teachers and not bureaucrats,” he said. “I’m big on law and order. We’ve got to do a better job of recruiting or retaining men and women in law enforcement. … And then on the tax structure. I’m interested in improving our tax structure and moving towards eliminating our state income tax for Georgia families and small businesses, Georgia businesses.”

Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams campaign manager, said Perdue and Kemp would spend their campaigns fighting each other as Abrams fights for the people of Georgia.

“Both Kemp and Perdue would continue to deprive 500,000 Georgians of health coverage that our taxpayers already paid,” Groh-Wargo said.

Candidate Vernon Jones called his Republican opponents “two peas in a pod,” and plugged himself as the only candidate who has called for the end of state income taxes, a forensic audit of the 2020 vote count in all 159 counties, who didn’t abandon Trump and who can defeat Abrams in the general election.

Kemp has focused his remarks on Abrams and has yet to address his Republican competition for the primary election. On the day of Abrams’ campaign announcement Dec. 1, Kemp issued a statement stating her “far-left agenda of open borders, gun confiscation, high taxes and anti-law enforcement policies don’t reflect who we are as Georgians.”