Perdue Concludes Anemic Campaign With Some Desperate Old-Fashioned Racism

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.

The Final Sales Pitch

On the eve of Georgia’s primaries, GOP gubernatorial candidate and Trump stooge David Perdue–who looks like he’s about to get absolutely destroyed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in today’s election–accused Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is Black, of “demeaning her own race” because she had said in 2018 that people (not Black people specifically, by the way) shouldn’t have to go into agriculture or hospitality to make a living in Georgia.

• Perdue also said yesterday that Abrams should “go back where she came from” (she’s been living in Georgia since high school). In fact, he said it twice (during an interview on a conservative radio show and during his final rally).
• We’re talking same guy who pretended he couldn’t pronounce fellow Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) last name during his failed Senate reelection bid.
• Also, Trump didn’t bother showing up at Perdue’s final rally last night. Instead, he just called into the event as Perdue thanked the ex-president and told him, “You’re the best, boss.”

GOP Still Nailing Cawthorn’s Coffin

That popping sound you just heard was the sound of whatever hope Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC)/”Dark MAGA” warrior had that his primary defeat would mean the end of the scandal flood: The House Ethics Committee announced on Monday that it was opening a bipartisan investigation into the GOP lawmaker to determine whether he “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest” and had an “improper relationship” with a member of his staff.

• The cryptocurrency at the heart of the probe is likely the “Let’s Go Brandon” coin that Cawthorn promoted … as did Trump and his eldest son, Don Jr. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who was fighting tooth and nail to get Cawthorn booted from office, had called on the other chamber to investigate the fellow North Carolina Republican over the cryptocurrency venture.
• But hey, at least Cawthorn isn’t the only one who’s landed in trouble with the Ethics committee, which also announced on Monday that it was investigating Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Alex Mooney (R-WV) over various alleged ethics violations.

Primaries To Watch Today

Lotta big primaries (or runoffs, in Texas’ case) happening today! Here’s what to keep on your radar in….

• Georgia:
  • The GOP gubernatorial primary between Gov. Brian Kemp (R) v. Trump-backed Perdue.
  • The GOP secretary of state primary with incumbent Brad Raffensperger (R) and three challengers, including 2020 election denier Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA). 
  • The GOP Senate primary for Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) seat with ex-NFL star/Trump endorsee/evolution skeptic/snake oil salesman/election conspiracy theorist Herschel Walker.

• Alabama:
  • Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) is vying for outgoing Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-AL) seat after Trump ripped away his endorsement for not Big Lying hard enough.

• Texas:
  • Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is facing off against Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. (Other things Paxton’s facing: an indictment on securities fraud charges, an FBI anti-corruption investigation and a lawsuit from the Texas State Bar.)
  • Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), the last anti-choice Democrat left in the House, is facing off against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, who’s been endorsed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

• Arkansas:
  • Ex-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is running for governor with her old boss’s blessing.

A Massive Forged Signature Scandal In Michigan

Not one, not two, but five GOP gubernatorial candidates in Michigan (including the two leading candidates) now face potential disqualification after the state’s Bureau of Elections uncovered a huge forgery scandal involving fraudulent signatures on the candidates’ petition sheets.

• There were at least 68,000 invalid signatures across nomination petitions for 10 candidates, the bureau reported on Monday.
• The five candidates fell short of the required number of signatures once the fraudulent ones were taken out.

How Russia’s Ukraine Attack Is Shriveling

The New York Times has this interactive map showing just how poorly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is going for the Kremlin right now.

The Right-Wing Cesspit

Amid the firestorm over his repeated regurgitation of the racist “great replacement” theory that allegedly inspired the deadly Buffalo shooting, Fox News host Tucker Carlson went with the troll route on Monday night:

NY Dem Rep. To Be Sworn In As Lt. Guv. This Week

Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) will be sworn in as New York lieutenant governor on Wednesday, replacing ex-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin (D), who resigned in April after he was indicted on corruption charges.

• The special election to fill Delgado’s seat will be on Aug. 23, the same day New York will hold its primaries.
• Delgado is also running for lieutenant governor in the New York primaries as incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) running mate.

TERF Wars

Prominent trans-exclusionary feminists (TERFs) like podcaster Katie Herzog who’ve been helpfully fueling conservatives’ war on trans people are finding out the hard way that those conservatives aren’t the kindred spirits they thought they were:

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