Cobb Reporter

There's a growing dispute over campaign finance law in Georgia that's now playing out in court between Republicans Gov. Brian Kemp and David Perdue, a challenger in the upcoming gubernatorial primary.

Perdue filed a lawsuit to argue the constitutionality of Georgia's Senate Bill 221, which permits Kemp to set up leadership funds or committees that aren't limited in the amount of money raised or spent, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

"Feigning alleged 'harms,' Perdue both cries afoul of transparent campaign finance structures set into law by the Georgia Legislature and asks the court to remove these structures so he and all other candidates intending to oppose the Governor in the coming election cycle (including Stacey Abrams, Vernon Jones, Kandiss Taylor, and Catherine Davis) may continue critical fundraising, while the Governor may not," a Kemp campaign spokesperson told Fox 5 Atlanta.

The motion filed by Kemp's legal team on Jan. 18 opposed Perdue's request for a preliminary injunction and accused Perdue of attempting to damage Kemp's campaign with not only the aim of the lawsuit, but also with its timing, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Kemp alleged that Perdue intentionally waited to file the civil action lawsuit in federal court so that it would coincide with the start of the next legislative session.

If Perdue is successful in his lawsuit, it would strip Kemp of the ability to raise campaign funds during the entire primary, Kemp's attorneys said in the court document. They have asked the court to reject Perdue's request because he is only being subjected to what every other candidate faces through political ads, which is that their record would be highlighted and questioned. They wrote that the legislation in question, which aims to increase transparency in state elections, "should not suffer from Perdue's unwillingness to withstand political advertisements."