Brian Kemp
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Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd
governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the state's 27th Secretary of State from 2010 to 2018, and as a member of the
Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...
from 2003 to 2007. He is the first Republican since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
to be elected governor of Georgia who was not a former Democrat. Kemp is a graduate of the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
. Before entering politics, he operated several businesses in agriculture, financial services, and real estate. In 2002, he was elected to the Georgia State Senate. Kemp ran for commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture in 2006 but lost the Republican primary. In 2010, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Kemp secretary of state. He was elected to a full term as secretary in 2010 and reelected in 2014. In 2015, Kemp was criticized after a data breach of over six million voters' personal information to 12 organizations. During the 2016 election, he was the only state official to reject help from the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
to guard against Russian interference. Kemp ran for governor in 2018 and faced Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams. He refused to resign as secretary of state while campaigning for governor, which stirred controversy and accusations of
abuse of power Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...
from Democrats. Kemp narrowly won the general election and resigned as secretary of state shortly thereafter. Abrams refused to concede and accused Kemp of
voter suppression Voter suppression is the discouragement or prevention of specific groups of people from voting or registering to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the o ...
, which he denied. News outlets and political science experts have found no evidence that voter suppression affected the result of the election. In his first term as governor, Kemp opposed face mask mandates and stay-at-home orders during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and prohibited localities from implementing stricter public health measures than the state as a whole. After the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, he faced criticism from President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
for following the state law that required him to certify the results, despite Trump's repeated false claims of fraud in the election. In 2021, Kemp signed into law the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which expanded early in-person voting and increased the state government's control over local election officials. In his 2022 reelection campaign, Kemp was challenged by former U.S. Senator
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...
in the Republican primary. Although Trump endorsed Perdue, Kemp defeated him in a landslide. In the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, Kemp defeated Abrams in a rematch by a wider margin than in 2018; she conceded defeat on election night.


Early life and education

Kemp was born in
Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
, the son of William L. Kemp II, into a prominent family with a history of political power. Kemp's maternal grandfather, Julian H. Cox, was a member of the Georgia Legislature. Kemp attended the private
Athens Academy The Academy of Athens (, ''Akadimía Athinón'') is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, with its founding principle tracing back to the historical Platonic Academy, Acad ...
until ninth grade, and then transferred to Clarke Central High School to play football for Billy Henderson; he graduated in 1983. He later graduated from the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
, where he majored in
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
.


Career

Kemp was a home builder and developer before entering politics. He served as a Georgia State Senator from 2003 to 2007 after defeating the Democratic incumbent Doug Haines. In 2006, Kemp ran for Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia. He finished second in the primary, but lost the runoff to Gary Black. Kemp declared his candidacy for State Senate District 47 when incumbent Ralph Hudgens planned to run for Congress in Georgia's 10th congressional district, but Hudgens instead ran for reelection, changing Kemp's plans.


Georgia Secretary of State

In early 2010, Kemp was appointed Georgia Secretary of State by then-Governor Sonny Perdue. Kemp won the 2010 election for a full term as secretary of state with 56.4% of the vote, to 39.4% for Democratic nominee Georganna Sinkfield. Four years later, Kemp was reelected. Kemp rejects the conclusion by the
United States Intelligence Community The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a group of separate US federal government, U.S. federal government intelligence agencies and subordinate organizations that work to conduct Intelligence assessment, intelligence activities which ...
that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Amid Russian interference in the 2016 election, Kemp denounced the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
's efforts to strengthen election system security, including improving access to federal cybersecurity assistance, calling the efforts an assault on
states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
. After narrowly winning the 2018 gubernatorial election, Kemp resigned as secretary of state in anticipation of becoming governor.


Federal efforts to secure state voting systems

As evidence mounted that Russian hackers were attempting to disrupt the 2016 elections, President Obama directed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to work with states to secure their voting systems as "critical infrastructure." Kemp was the only state election official to decline the help from Jeh Johnson. In a 2017 interview, he denounced the effort as an assault on states' rights, saying, "I think it was a politically calculated move by the previous administration" and "I don't necessarily believe" Russia had attempted to disrupt the elections. In August 2016, amid Russian attempts to disrupt the 2016 elections, Kemp said that an intrusion by Russian hackers into voting systems was "not probable at all, the way our systems are set up" and accused federal officials of exaggerating the threat of Russian interference. Georgia was one of 14 states that used
electronic voting machine An electronic voting machine is a voting machine based on electronics. Two main technologies exist: ''optical scan voting system, optical scanning'' and ''direct-recording electronic voting machine, direct recording'' (DRE). Optical scanning ...
s that produced no paper record, which election integrity experts say left elections vulnerable to tampering and technical problems. The 2018 indictment against Russian hackers (as part of Special Counsel
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...
's probe into 2016 interference) said that the Russian hackers targeted county websites in Georgia. In December 2016, Kemp accused the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
of attempting to hack his office's computer network, including the voter registration database, implying that it was retribution for his previous refusal to work with DHS. A DHS inspector general investigation found there was no hacking, but rather it was "the result of normal and automatic computer message exchanges generated by the Microsoft applications involved."


Exposure of personal voter data

In October 2015, the Georgia Secretary of State's office, under Kemp's leadership, illegally disclosed the
personal information Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. The abbreviation PII is widely used in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates has fou ...
(including
Social Security number In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to United States nationality law, U.S. citizens, Permanent residence (United States), permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2 ...
s and dates of birth) of 6.2 million registered Georgia voters. This
data breach A data breach, also known as data leakage, is "the unauthorized exposure, disclosure, or loss of personal information". Attackers have a variety of motives, from financial gain to political activism, political repression, and espionage. There ...
occurred when the office sent out a CD with this information to 12 organizations that purchase monthly voter lists from the office. The office was not aware of the breach until the next month, and did not publicly acknowledge it until ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' reported the
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit against the office that resulted. Within a month of the breach becoming publicly known, it had cost taxpayers $1.2 million in credit monitoring services for those whose data had been compromised, and $395,000 for an audit into Kemp's handling of the unauthorized data disclosure. Kemp drew criticism again in 2017 when it was revealed that a flaw in the state voting system exposed the personal information of over six million Georgia voters, as well as passwords used by county election officials to access voter files, to researchers at Kennesaw State University. The security flaw was fixed six months after it was reported to election authorities. After a lawsuit was filed, a server at the center of the controversy was wiped, preventing officials from determining the scope of the breach. Kemp denied responsibility, instead saying researchers at Kennesaw State University, who managed the system, had acted "in accordance with standard IT procedures" in deleting the data.


Massage Envy controversy

On September 5, 2018, an attack ad was released claiming that Kemp chose not to pursue accusations of sexual assault against therapists employed by Massage Envy during his time overseeing the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy because of donations made by franchisee owners to Kemp's campaign. The offenders were able to renew their Board licenses after the accusations. Republican State Senator Renee Unterman said that there "appears to be a direct connection between campaign support from Massage Envy franchisees in exchange for non-action and suppression" and asked U.S. Attorney B.J. Pak to investigate "what seems to be a quid pro quo scheme being perpetrated through the secretary of state's office and the Kemp for governor campaign." Kemp said that he had done nothing illegal. In response to the accusations, a spokesperson for Kemp's campaign asserted that Unterman was "mentally unstable" and suggested she "seek immediate medical attention before she hurts herself or someone else". The Kemp campaign was criticized for its apparent reference to Unterman's history of depression, about which she had spoken publicly. In response, Unterman said she would not be "intimidated, blackmailed, belittled, or sexually harassed" into silence. Kemp's campaign did not apologize for the remarks.


Accusations of voter suppression

Kemp was accused by Democrats of
voter suppression Voter suppression is the discouragement or prevention of specific groups of people from voting or registering to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the o ...
during the 2018 gubernatorial election. Political scientists Michael Bernhard and Daniel O'Neill described Kemp's actions as the worst case of voter suppression in that election year. The allegations arose from Kemp's actions as secretary of state: a few weeks before the election, he put 53,000 voter registration applications on hold, with 70% of the applicants being
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and he purged 1.4 million inactive voters from voter rolls during his tenure, including 668,000 in 2017. Kemp denied engaging in voter suppression, stating that he was following federal and state law to update voter rolls with accurate information. As a result of the controversies surrounding the 2018 Georgia midterms, critics have called Kemp's gubernatorial victory illegitimate. Glenn Kessler of ''
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'' noted such claims are "an article of faith among Democrats". Political scientists and news outlets have rejected these claims; ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' wrote, "no evidence emerged of systematic malfeasance – or of enough tainted votes to force a runoff election between Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams". Political scientist Charles S. Bullock III told ''The Washington Post'' that claims of a stolen election were "not based on fact but will continue to be articulated by Abrams since it helps mobilize her supporters", while Richard Hasen took issue with Kemp's job performance but said that he had seen "no good social science evidence that efforts to make it harder to register and vote were responsible for Kemp’s victory over Abrams in the Georgia gubernatorial race". A ''
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'' fact check noted that the actions Kemp's office took during the election "can be explained as routine under state and federal law". Hasen told ''
PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...
'', "I have seen no good evidence that the suppressive effects of strict voting and registration laws affected the outcome of the governor’s races in Georgia and Florida" and suggested Democrats "cool it" with claims the election was stolen. Kemp introduced a controversial "exact match" policy during his first year as secretary of state in 2010. Under the system, eligible Georgians were dropped from voter rolls for an errant hyphen or if "a stray letter or a typographical error on someone's voter registration card didn't match the records of the state's driver's license bureau or the Social Security office." In a 2010 explanation defending the practice to the Department of Justice, Kemp's office said the policy was "designed to assure the identity and eligibility of voters and to prevent fraudulent or erroneous registrations." The Department of Justice initially rejected the policy, but allowed it to go into effect with additional safeguards; a later lawsuit claimed "it is not apparent that the Secretary of State ever followed the safeguards." The process was halted after a lawsuit in 2016, but the state legislature passed a modified form of the policy in 2017 and the process began again. Critics consider these types of "exact match" laws a form of voter suppression designed to disproportionately target minorities, and African-American, Asian, and Latino voters accounted for 76.3% of the registrations dropped from voter rolls between July 2015 and July 2017. Critics say that minority names are more likely to contain hyphens and less common spellings that lead to clerical mistakes, resulting in rejection of the registration. In a 2018 ruling against Kemp, District Judge Eleanor L. Ross said the system places a "severe burden" on voters. After changes to the
Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...
in 2012 gave states with a history of voter suppression more autonomy, Kemp's office oversaw the closing of 214 polling locations, 8% of the total in Georgia. The closings disproportionately affected African-American communities. A consultant recommended that seven of the nine county polling locations in majority-minority Randolph County be closed ahead of the 2018 midterm election for failure to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
. After the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
challenged the plan, the locations were allowed to remain open. Kemp denied knowledge of the plan, but a slide from a presentation given by the consultant read, "Consolidation has come highly recommended by the Secretary of State and is already being adopted by several counties and is being seriously considered and being worked on by many more." Officials claim the locations were closed as a cost-saving measure. Georgia has removed registered voters from voter rolls for not voting in consecutive elections more aggressively than any other state. Between 2012 and 2018, Kemp's office canceled over 1.4 million voters' registrations, with nearly 700,000 cancellations in 2017 alone. On a single night in July 2017, half a million voters, about 8% of all registered Georgia voters, had their registrations canceled, an act ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' said "may represent the largest mass disenfranchisement in US history." Kemp oversaw the removals as secretary of state, and did so eight months after declaring his candidacy for governor. By early October 2018, Kemp's office had put more than 53,000 voter registration applications on hold, with more than 75% belonging to minorities. The voters are eligible to re-register if they still live in Georgia and have not died. An investigative journalism group run by Greg Palast found that, of the approximately 534,000 Georgians whose voter registrations were purged between 2016 and 2017, more than 334,000 still lived where they were registered. The voters were given no notice that they had been purged. Palast sued Kemp, claiming over 300,000 voters were purged illegally. Kemp's office denied any wrongdoing, saying that by "regularly updating our rolls, we prevent fraud and ensure that all votes are cast by eligible Georgia voters." After Totenberg's ruling thousands of voting machines were sequestered by local election officials on Election Day in 2018, an action critics said was designed to increase wait times at polling locations. The sequestration of machines disproportionately affected counties that favored Kemp's opponent and caused voters in some locations to have to wait in line for hours in inclement weather. Other locations suffered delays because machines had been delivered without power cords. Kemp himself experienced technical problems attempting to vote in the election. Kemp opposes automatic voter registration. In a leaked 2018 recording, he said that attempts to register all eligible voters "continues to concern us, especially if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote." In a separate 2018 recording made by a progressive group he said, "Democrats are working hard ... registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines. If they can do that, they can win these elections in November." On November 4, 2018, 48 hours before his gubernatorial election, the secretary of state's office published the details of a zero day flaw in the state registration website, accusing Democrats of attempted hacking for investigating the problem but providing no evidence. Critics have said the announcement was further evidence of voter suppression and gave hackers a window of opportunity during which voter registration records could be changed. In response to criticisms of the announcement, Kemp said, "I'm not worried about how it looks. I'm doing my job." In a ruling on the matter, Totenberg criticized Kemp for having "delayed in grappling with the heightened critical cybersecurity issues of our era posed ythe state's dated, vulnerable voting system" and said the system "poses a concrete risk of alteration of ballot counts." In December 2018, ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' found that Kemp made the hacking allegations without any evidence. ''The Journal-Constitution'' wrote that Kemp might have made the unsubstantiated accusations against Democrats as a ploy and diversion to help him win the election; the "examination suggests Kemp and his aides used his elected office to protect his political campaign from a potentially devastating embarrassment. Their unsubstantiated claims came at a pivotal moment, as voters were making their final decisions in an election that had attracted intense national attention."


Congressional investigation

On December 4, 2018, U.S. Representative
Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene Cummings (January 18, 1951October 17, 2019) was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecess ...
, the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced that he would like to call Kemp before Congress to testify about the fairness of his actions during the 2018 elections. "I want to be able to bring people in, like the new governor-to-be of Georgia, to explain ... to us why is it fair for wanting to be secretary of state and be running or governor" Cummings said. On March 6, 2019, it was revealed that both Kemp and his successor as secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, were under investigation by the House Oversight and Reform Committee for alleged voter suppression in the 2018 elections. Cummings oversaw the investigation. Kemp was given until March 20, 2019, to comply with document requests or face a
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
.


Gubernatorial elections


2018

The primary elections were held on May 22, 2018, and a primary runoff was held on July 24, 2018, between Republican candidates Kemp and
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Casey Cagle; Kemp prevailed. Incumbent Republican governor Nathan Deal was term-limited and thus could not seek a third consecutive term. Stacey Abrams won the Democratic primary with over 75% of the vote, allowing her to avoid a runoff. During the general election campaign, Kemp provoked controversy with multiple ads, including one in which he posed with rifles and a shotgun that he jokingly pointed at a teenager who "wanted to date his daughter", and one in which he said his truck was for "rounding up criminal illegals". The lack of proper
gun safety Gun safety is the study and practice of managing risk when using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms, airguns and ammunition in order to avoid injury, illness or death. Gun safety includes the training of users, the design of fi ...
in handling the shotgun in the "Jake" ad attracted criticism from the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, which said the ad "delivers a message perpetuating domestic violence and misogyny while modeling egregiously unsafe behavior", and prompted criticism that the ad depicted irresponsible handling of guns. Kemp's supporters, by contrast, viewed the ad as a "lighthearted portrayal of a protective, gun-wielding Southern father vetting a potential suitor", and Kemp dismissed the criticism, telling critics, "Get over it." In the November 7 general election, Kemp declared victory over Abrams. The next morning, he resigned as Secretary of State. On November 16, every county certified their votes with Kemp leading by roughly 55,000 votes. Shortly after the certification, Abrams suspended her campaign; she accepted Kemp as the legal winner of the election while refusing to say that the election was legitimate. Abrams has since claimed numerous instances of election activity that allegedly unfairly affected the results. Following the election, Abrams and her organization Fair Fight filed several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality and
Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...
compliance of Georgia's voting laws, some of which are still pending. Kemp prevailed by 54,723 votes, defeating Abrams 50.2–48.8%. The 2018 gubernatorial election was the closest governor's race in Georgia since
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
.


2022

During the primary election, Kemp was endorsed by former
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
. He faced a primary challenge from former U.S. Senator
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...
, who was endorsed by former President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
after Kemp refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Kemp defeated Perdue in the primary, 73.7% to 21.8%. Trump endorsed Kemp in the general election. Abrams was once again the Democratic nominee. This was Georgia's first gubernatorial rematch since
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
. In the general election, Kemp won reelection to a second term, defeating Abrams by 7.5%. Abrams conceded on election night. He was sworn in for a second term on January 12, 2023.


Tenure as governor

Kemp was inaugurated as governor in a public ceremony in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
on January 14, 2019. He was inaugurated for his second term on January 9, 2023. As governor, Kemp has been called "staunchly" conservative, signing strict anti-abortion laws, expanding gun rights, and overhauling election rules after Trump's 2020 defeat.


Abortion

In May 2019, Kemp signed into law a highly controversial bill that would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus, which is usually when a woman is six weeks pregnant; the legislation was one of the country's strictest anti-abortion laws. The legislation was blocked by federal courts, which ruled it unconstitutional: a
preliminary injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...
entered in October 2019 blocked the legislation from going into effect, and a
permanent injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remed ...
entered in July 2020 permanently voided the law. This injunction was later overturned with the 2022 Supreme Court decision
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...
. Kemp has also publicly stated his support for a "statewide ban on the destruction of embryos". The abortion ban has vague and conflicting exceptions that ostensibly protect the life of the mother. According to Kemp, the law keeps women "safe, healthy and informed". In practice, the exceptions are so vague and contradictory that physicians are reluctant to provide abortions even when the mother's life is at imminent risk. By 2024, at least two women had died in Georgia after they were unable to access legal abortions and timely medical care.


Election law

In April 2019, Kemp signed legislation into law addressing some criticisms that arose from the contested 2018 election; the new law provides that polling places cannot be changed 60 days before an election, that county election officials cannot reject absentee ballots because of mismatched signatures, and that a voter whose voter registration application information does not match other government databases will not be removed from the voter rolls for this reason. In March 2021, Kemp signed SB 202, which expanded early in-person voting, enacted ID requirements for absentee voting, gave the legislature power to overrule or replace local election officials, and banned anyone other than election workers from providing food or water to voters waiting in line. In May 2024, Kemp signed three election bills into law.


Economy

Kemp visited Swainsboro in September 2019 to announce the creation of a rural "strike team" focusing on economic development in rural areas of the state.


Tariffs and trade

Kemp has called the Trump administration's tariffs on
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
a "good move", saying that China is "a big trading partner" but has "been ripping us off in a lot of different ways". China is Georgia’s third-biggest trading partner, in goods ranging from aerospace parts to poultry.


Health care

Kemp has supported efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, as well as efforts to hinder the functioning of the Affordable Care Act for Georgia residents. Kemp and Republicans in the Georgia legislature have opposed full Medicaid expansion. Kemp has sought to introduce work requirements for Medicaid recipients.


Key appointments

After
Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republi ...
announced that he would resign from the U.S. Senate on December 31, 2019, Kemp appointed businesswoman Kelly Loeffler to complete Isakson's term on December 4. Loeffler was sworn into office on January 6, 2020, but lost the seat to Democrat
Raphael Warnock Raphael Gamaliel Warnock ( ; born July 23, 1969) is an American politician and Baptists, Baptist pastor serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, ...
in the special election held for it.


State judiciary

Kemp appointed Carla Wong McMillian to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia caused by the retirement of Robert Benham. Despite a regular election to the Supreme Court of Georgia being scheduled for November 2020, Kemp canceled the election when Judge Keith R. Blackwell announced he would retire between the scheduled election and the end of his term.


COVID-19 pandemic

On April 1, 2020, Kemp announced a statewide stay-at-home order to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He was among the last governors to issue a stay-at-home order, as a
national emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
was declared three weeks earlier, on March 13. As he issued the order, Kemp said he had become aware the coronavirus could be spread by asymptomatic people only that day, despite warnings from health officials made months earlier. At the end of April, Kemp lifted the stay-at-home order over the opposition of mayors and against the advice of public health experts and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
. While many other states were implementing face mask mandates, Kemp prohibited localities from implementing stricter public health measures than the state. In response, localities filed lawsuits against Kemp. In July, Kemp prohibited Georgia cities and counties from requiring face masks to halt the virus's spread. At the time, coronavirus cases were surging in many states, and other states were implementing statewide mask mandates. By mid-July 2020, more than 127,000 COVID-19 cases had been reported in Georgia, with 3,000 deaths. In March 2021, Kemp expressed opposition to a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress.


Job approval

In an April 2019 ''
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' (AJC) poll, Kemp had a 46 percent job approval rating among Georgians. In July of that year, another poll showed that Kemp's ratings had risen to 52 percent approving, making him the 22nd-most popular governor in the country. A May 2020
Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...
poll showed that Kemp's job approval rating had declined to 39 percent among Georgians, making him among the nation's least popular governors; his low popularity was attributed to his handling of the coronavirus crisis. In November 2020, Kemp's approval rating fell to 37 percent, according to an IAG/Fox 5 poll. In January 2021, an AJC poll showed his approval rating had rebounded to 43 percent, and by May it was up to 45 percent. In April 2022, his approval rating had reached 50 percent, according to a Morning Consult poll. In October 2022, one month before the 2022 gubernatorial election, Kemp's approval rating among Georgians stood at 54 percent. At the beginning of his second term in 2023, his approval rating surged to 62 percent, according to an AJC poll; it peaked at 64 percent the following year.


Relationship with Donald Trump

In a November 2020
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
interview,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
said he was "ashamed" of having supported Kemp's 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Trump added that Kemp had "done absolutely nothing" to challenge the result of the 2020 election in Georgia, in which
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
defeated Trump by 11,779 votes, the first time since 1992 that Georgia voted for the Democratic nominee for president. Kemp and
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Geoff Duncan put out a joint statement explaining that calling a joint session of the
Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...
to appoint their own electors to send to the
United States Electoral College In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice p ...
would be unconstitutional. In December 2020, Trump called for Kemp's resignation. The same month, attorney Lin Wood, acting separately from the Trump campaign, called for both Kemp's and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's imprisonment. In January 2021, Trump criticized Kemp for certifying Georgia's results. This resulted in speculation that he would face a Trump-backed primary challenger in 2022. In March 2021, Kemp said he would support Trump if he ran for president again in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. In September 2021, Trump implied at a rally in
Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston County, Georgia, Houston and Peach County, Georgia, Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,60 ...
, that he would like Kemp's 2018 Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams to replace him, saying, "Stacey, would you like to take his place? It's okay with me." In December 2021,
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...
announced his candidacy for governor, with Trump's endorsement. In May 2022, Kemp announced he had the support of former Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
. In March 2024, Kemp endorsed Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. In June, he said he did not vote for Trump in the state's primary (Trump was the only active candidate), but made clear he would support him in November and work to elect him. In July, Kemp traveled to Wisconsin for the
2024 Republican National Convention The 2024 Republican National Convention was an event in which delegates of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of ...
, where he told the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' of Trump's platform for the Republican party, "it doesn't really matter what we think". In August, at an Atlanta rally, Trump criticized Kemp and his wife for 10 minutes, saying "he is a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy. And he’s a very average governor...little Brian, little Brian Kemp". In response Kemp asked Trump on social media to cease "engaging in petty personal insults" and to "leave my family out of it". Apart from an event focused on the damage from
Hurricane Helene Hurricane Helene ( ) was a deadly and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to ...
, Kemp and Trump did not appear or campaign together in the 2024 US elections.


Labor unions

In 2024, Kemp joined five other Republican governors (
Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey ( ; born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. A Republican since 2002, Ivey was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor o ...
,
Tate Reeves Jonathan Tate Reeves (born June 5, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 65th List of governors of Mississippi, governor of Mississippi since 2020. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Reeves served as the ...
, Henry McMaster, Bill Lee, and
Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...
) in a statement opposing the
United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
unionization campaign.


Personal life

Kemp married Marty Argo, daughter of longtime
Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...
member Bob Argo, on January 8, 1994; they have three daughters. The family belongs to Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens. In May 2018, Kemp was sued for failure to repay $500,000 in business loans. The suit was related to his having personally guaranteed $10 million in business loans to Hart AgStrong, a Kentucky-based
canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...
crushing company. The company was under investigation after making guarantees using assets it did not own and repaying suppliers using proceeds from insurance settlements. An attorney for the Georgia Department of Agriculture said these actions "may be a felony under Georgia law." No charges were filed, and Kemp and the plaintiff reached a settlement shortly before he became governor. In October 2018, Atlanta television station
WAGA-TV WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, serving as the market's Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains st ...
reported that companies Kemp owned had owed more than $800,000 in loans to a community bank where he is a founding board member and stockholder. Such "insider loans" are legal as long as they are on the same terms as the bank would extend to any other borrower. Kemp's campaign declined to publicize the terms of the loan.


Electoral history


References


External links


Campaign websiteBrian P. Kemp
– Georgia state website
Brian P. Kemp
– briankemp.com * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Brian P. 1963 births 21st-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians Episcopalians from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Living people Politicians from Athens, Georgia Republican Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Secretaries of state of Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia alumni