David Perdue, a former Georgia Senator who unsuccessfully sought to block the Senate’s 2019 unanimous passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, has been defeated in his bid to serve as Georgia Governor.

Former US President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party suffered a slip after his handpicked candidate for Georgia governor was trounced at the polls.

Mr Trump recruited David Perdue, an ex-senator, to challenge incumbent Brian Kemp in the Republican primaries.

Mr Kemp had rejected Mr Trump’s pleas to overturn the 2020 Georgia election results.

But as ballots were counted, Mr Perdue was so far behind that he was defeated before half the votes were in.

The primary was being closely watched as a test of Mr Trump’s hold over the Republican party, as voters decide who will be the party’s official candidate in the midterm elections in November.

The midterms will decide who controls the two chambers which make up Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives – and fall halfway through President Joe Biden’s term in office.