(SRN NEWS/AP) – Gov. Brian Kemp, who has defied President Donald Trump and thrived, offers a potential model for Republicans for a post-Trump future, one that’s more low-drama conservatism and less Make America Great Again populism.
“Brian Kemp has been a force in Georgia politics the likes of which we may not see again for some time,” said Stephen Lawson, a Republican strategist.
Kemp’s success is uncertain, and Democrats hope they can gain ground this year without him at the helm. They’re trying to win the governor’s office for the first time since 1998, get Ossoff elected to a second term and inch their way toward legislative majorities.
But Kemp’s political resilience has been noteworthy at a time of national turmoil. He rebuffed Trump’s efforts to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, then defeated a Trump-endorsed primary opponent in 2022. Kemp later reconciled with Trump without endorsing his election denial, and he’s managed to remain an influential voice in national politics.
“Historically, you’re either the back bench, bomb-throwing conservative candidate, or you’re the more moderate business candidate,” said Ralph Reed, a longtime activist who chairs the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “But he’s been able to do both.”
It’s possible that Kemp could run for another office down the line. He’s been floated as a possible candidate for U.S. Senate or even president. But the die-hard University of Georgia graduate may just choose to go home to Athens.
“I think the Republican Party has changed forever,” said longtime Democratic state Rep. Al Williams of Midway. “His brand of Republicanism, I don’t know what kind of future it has in the MAGA world. He’s conservative but not crazy.”
Democrats, hoping to move toward the majority in the swing state, argue Kemp has kept tilting Georgia toward the rich. They remain dismayed that he refused to expand Medicaid to all adults, while arguing Kemp’s backing of abortion restrictions and other social conservative causes belie his moderate image.
“I think that Brian Kemp as governor has not been honestly all that different than 22 years of Republican rule that has made the American dream less attainable for most Georgians,” said Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Kemp first upset Trump by naming Kelly Loeffler to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in 2019. Trump had wanted then-U.S. Rep. Doug Collins instead.
Trump reacted negatively again in April 2020 when Kemp allowed Georgia businesses to mostly reopen during the pandemic
After the 2020 election, Kemp stared down weeks of pressure from Trump, refusing to call a special legislative session to overturn the results.
“He’s one of the few southern governors that showed some kind of guts when it came to Donald Trump,” Williams said.
With Trump partisans seizing control of the Georgia Republican Party, Kemp’s reelection initially looked dicey. But with support from key suburban swing voters who liked Kemp more than Trump, he clobbered Trump’s chosen candidate, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, in a Republican primary, then cruised to a lopsided victory in a rematch with Democrat Stacey Abrams, unlike Kemp’s narrow 2018 win.
“After 2020 he stood on principle and did what he thought was right — and he was rewarded for that in a major way in 2022,” Lawson said.
After that triumph, a Kemp-for-president boomlet stirred. Kemp never publicly embraced it, and he was backing away from the idea by 2023. But he became chair of the Republican Governors Association, raising his visibility with donors nationwide. By August 2024, when Trump came to Atlanta and publicly trashed Kemp and his wife for 10 minutes during a rally, alarmed national Republicans brokered a truce, convincing Trump he needed Kemp to win Georgia.
Trump won his comeback months later, carrying Georgia.
Kemp declined to run for Senate this year despite pressure from Trump. Some still believe he might have a future in national politics — maybe as a vice president or a Cabinet secretary in a future Republican administration.