Brian Kemp wins GOP nomination for Georgia governor

ATLANTA — It will be Brian Kemp versus Stacey Abrams in the race for Georgia’s next governor.

Kemp, the current secretary of state, beat Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in a landslide Tuesday night in the runoff race for the Republican nomination for governor.

Cagle, the early favorite to win, called Kemp to concede around 8:15 p.m.

Not long after that, Kemp addressed the crowd of supporters at his election headquarters in Athens, and asked all Republicans to unite behind his campaign.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot was there as Kemp walked into the packed room to the thunderous applause of his supporters.

After addressing the crowd, Kemp went over to Elliot, who asked him about his victory.

[READ: A minute-by-minute look at the GOP runoff for governor]

“It was a fantastic night. You know, got over a lot quicker than we thought it was going to, but we just had a lot of momentum on the ground, obviously, that carried the day,” Kemp said.

It was more than Kemp's ground game that won the day. Elliot said he saw some internal numbers that showed just how much Kemp profited from President Donald Trump's surprise Tweet endorsing his campaign.

Elliot asked Kemp if he was going to ask the president to come down to Georgia to campaign for him.

"I'll let the president decide what he wants to do, but we'd love to have the president come and campaign.  You saw how electric the event was with the vice president the other day," Kemp said.

Kemp said he hopes Cagle and his supporters will now unite behind his campaign.

He told Elliot that his campaign is already laying out its themes for the upcoming race against Abrams.

Casey Cagle concedes

Holding back a rush of emotion, Cagle took to the stage at his campaign headquarters, surrounded by his family, and conceded the race for governor to Kemp.

"I am the most blessed man around and you need to know that. It didn't turn out the way we wanted it but, in the end of the day, I can promise you, my life is so rich," Cagle said, addressing his supporters in the room.

Earlier in the day, he talked to Channel 2's Carl Willis about dirty tricks used during the campaign -- including secret recordings of him talking about bills he supported just for political gain and his desire to cut poverty -- which were all made public.

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Still, he said, he'll throw his support behind Kemp despite Kemp using the tapes to his advantage.

"I congratulated him on a wonderful race and, obviously, a great victory and I committed to him my full, undivided support to see that he will be our next governor of the state of Georgia and I want each of you to do the same thing," Cagle said.

Cagle told Willis that the Trump effect brought his run to the governor's office to a screeching halt, saying it was highly unusual for a president to go against an incumbent governor and lieutenant governor within his own party.

"President Trump is a very powerful man, the most powerful man in the world, and he brought us down, so … but I still support him. I believe in him and I believe that he is the one person who can clean Washington up,” Cagle said. “It's unfortunate that I’m the casualty, but I’m going to be fine."

Cox Media Group