North Gwinnett News

Former U.S. senator and Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate David Perdue has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him off the campaign trail.

"He is vaccinated and boosted," campaign officials said in a statement. "He will be quarantining and following the updated guidance from the CDC, and he looks forward to being back out on the campaign trail as soon as possible."

The former state senator is running against Republican incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Perdue in the hotly contested GOP race. Also running are former Democrat-turned-Republican Vernon Jones and GOP activist Kandis Taylor.

Prior to testing positive, Perdue spoke in downtown Atlanta at the Faith & Freedom luncheon where most attendees were unmasked. Campaign spokesperson Jenni Sweat said Perdue has informed the event organizers of his positive test. Perdue plans to hold virtual campaign events while in isolation and has already spoken via internet to a group of Hall County Republicans

Perdue was forced into isolation after coming to contact with a person who had tested positive for the coronavirus in the final weeks of his U.S. Senate re-election campaign, which he lost to Democrat Jan Ossoff in a January 2021 runoff.

As the campaign has intensified, Perdue has raised concerns about a state law that allows Kemp to raise unlimited campaign funds.