David Perdue Takes First Step In 2022 Senate Bid Vs. Warnock

ATLANTA, GA — Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, a Republican, filed the first steps Monday for a potential 2022 Senate comeback bid against Democrat Raphael Warnock.

The paperwork Perdue filed with the Federal Election Commission, called a statement of candidacy, is preliminary; he has not yet officially announced his intention to run. However, a senior adviser to Perdue told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that while the paperwork is merely a necessary legal step, the former senator is "leaning heavily toward" running again.

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff in January, one of two historic runoff elections in Georgia — and one of two historic losses. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also a Republican, lost her seat in the Senate as well to Warnock, which flipped the Senate majority from Republicans to Democrats.

Perdue announced on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that he is considering running in 2022 for two primary reasons:

"First, Georgia is not a blue state and yet, as I write this today, the people of Georgia are represented by two of the most radically liberal individuals to ever occupy a seat on the hallowed floor of the United States Senate. They do not fairly represent most Georgians.

"Second, we need to regain the Republican majority in the US Senate to change the direction of the country. This is the same reason I ran in the first place in 2014 when we had hard evidence of how the Obama administration had failed. That administration gave us the lowest economic output in US history while doubling the debt of all previous presidents," Perdue said.

Bonnie and I are considering running in 2022. Here’s my note on why: pic.twitter.com/Wnyt0tB3th
— David Perdue (@Perduesenate) February 16, 2021

While U.S. senators usually serve six-year terms, Loeffler was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in December 2019 to fill the remaining two years on former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's term after he retired. Warnock unseated Loeffler in the runoff, which means he will be up for reelection in 2022 for a full six-year term.

Two other Republicans are also eyeing a 2022 Senate bid: Loeffler and former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, who also vied for a spot in the January runoff against Warnock. None of the potential Republican candidates have officially announced a run in 2022, and only Perdue — who would start his Senate bid with about $5.7 million left over in his campaign account, according to the FEC — has filed a statement of candidacy so far.

Warnock filed a statement of candidacy on Jan. 18 for the 2022 election.

"Over the next few weeks, Bonnie [Perdue's wife] and I will diligently consider our options about how to best serve the people of Georgia," Perdue said. "If we decide to run, we will need your help once again. Thank you for everything you have done for us. We take that very seriously and will forever be in your debt."