David Perdue in quarantine after testing positive for COVID

Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue speaks via video monitor during a rally ahead of a Senate runoff in Dalton, Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue speaks via video monitor during a rally ahead of a Senate runoff in Dalton, Georgia on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue tested positive for coronavirus on Monday hours after a campaign stop at a crowded downtown Atlanta venue to promote his challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp.

Perdue spokeswoman Jenni Sweat said the Republican is quarantining after he tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing, and that he was vaccinated and boosted.

He isn’t experiencing any symptoms, she added, and he participated remotely in a Hall County meet-and-greet Monday evening.

The candidate’s positive test came shortly after he spoke to the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition about why he launched a campaign against Kemp. He was among dozens of Republican state officials, including candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, at the annual conservative gathering.

Perdue, who entered the race at former President Donald Trump’s urging, received a smattering of applause for arguing that Kemp couldn’t defeat Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.

The Republican also had to quarantine in the final days of the 2021 runoff after he was exposed to an aide who contracted the virus. He lost that reelection campaign to Democrat Jon Ossoff.