“The Republican base is poised to take a turn delivering Trump a stinging rebuke in a state where, during his presidency, the GOP lost two Senate seats, two House seats and the state’s Electoral College votes for the first time since the mid-1990s,” Steve Shepard writes in his curtain-raiser this morning.

For Trump, the risk is not simply that his favored candidate could lose. It’s that a defeat here could further erase the sense of him as an untouchable GOP kingmaker. If Perdue goes down, it’ll be the third time this year that a Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate has been defeated in a GOP primary. (The first two came in Nebraska and Idaho.)

An array of big-name GOP figures have flocked to the Peach State to support Kemp — including former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE, sitting Arizona Gov. DOUG DUCEY and, most recently, former VP MIKE PENCE, who appeared with Kemp at a rally Monday evening.

And yet, even as their appearances on behalf of Kemp may give hope to anti-Trump Republicans, the reality is most of these politicians are betting on a horse that’s been ahead for a while, which undercuts their muscle flexing. They’re also clearly touting Trump’s agenda, showing the former president’s grip on the party even among those who might defy his endorsements.