Perdue Won't Run In 2022, Says It's 'Personal, Not Political'

GEORGIA — Framing it as a “personal decision, not a political one,” former Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue announced Tuesday that he’d decided against running in 2022 against Democrat Raphael Warnock.

“I am confident that whoever wins the Republican Primary next year will defeat the Democrat candidate in the General election for this seat, and I will do everything I can to make that happen,” Perdue said in a Facebook post Tuesday morning.

Perdue had filed a preliminary “statement of candidacy” with the Federal Election Commission just a week ago.

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff in a January runoff. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also a Republican, lost her seat as well to Warnock, which flipped the Senate majority from Republicans to Democrats.

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.

“As we saw in my race in November, Georgia is not a blue state,” Perdue said in a Facebook post Tuesday. “The more Georgians that vote, the better Republicans do.”

Perdue’s statement came the same day that the Georgia Senate approved a bill tightening ID requirements for absentee voting. Senate Bill 67 passed mostly along party lines, with Republicans for it and Democrats against it, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The bill is similar to one proposed in January by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas. Another bill still in process introduced by state Rep. Charlice Byrd of Woodstock would prohibit certain types of ID for voting in person. And yet another bill proposed by state Rep. Barry Fleming of Harlem would eliminate Sunday voting and limit ballot drop boxes.

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