Businessman #David Perdue (R) has won his hard-fought Senate primary, setting up a general-election battle against charity executive Michelle Nunn (D).
The Associated Press has called the race for Perdue, who led Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) by 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent with 93 of precincts reporting.
Perdue pulled off his narrow win by running hard as the outsider, positioning himself from the beginning of the primary as the only non-politician in the race.
He stuck with that message throughout the primary runoff, hammering Kingston as a career politician and criticizing him for the more than two decades he's been in Congress.
Kingston responded by painting Perdue as wealthy and out-of-touch, ripping into his business record. Those attacks will likely be reprised by Democrats this fall.
Perdue, a self-funding candidate and the former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok, took first place in the crowded multi-candidate May primary, leading Kingston by double digits. But Kingston came out fighting, winning the endorsements of many of his congressional colleagues as well as some Tea Party activists.
"Congratulations to David Perdue on his victory tonight in Georgia," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said in a statement. "David's experience in the private sector will be put to good use in Washington, and his firsthand experience in creating thousands of good paying jobs will help Georgians."
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