Republicans in Georgia are turning on Gov. Brian Kemp, accusing him of reneging on an agreement with President Donald Trump to reach a consensus on a GOP Senate nominee — and blowing up the party's strategy to try to pick up a seat from Democrats.
This comes after Republicans were already disappointed in Kemp for not running for Senate himself, as party insiders considered him their best shot to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
According to Reese Gorman of NOTUS, "After Kemp decided last year against a Senate run, he ventured out to Trump National Golf Club in Virginia for a meeting with President Donald Trump. The two reached an agreement to work together — along with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund — and find the right candidate to take on Ossoff the following November, as NOTUS previously reported."
However, they never reached an agreement, and Kemp went on to endorse former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley for the race, who is currently polling third — vastly increasing the odds the GOP primary will advance to a costly runoff, and infuriating Republicans who think Kemp went off and did his own thing rather than work in the best interests of the party.
The other two leaders in the race include U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter.
"When Dooley met with the White House and Senate Republicans’ campaign arms about his run, he left a favorable impression on those he met with, sources familiar with the meetings told NOTUS. But, because Kemp pushed Dooley without the express backing of Trump, it didn’t do Dooley any favors," said the report. One Georgia GOP official explained, “You don’t get to go past the Trump team and then turn around and come back to them and say, ‘Hey, can I have your endorsement now?’ Right? It was a strategic mistake.”
This comes at the same time as some of the other candidates in the race deal with their own issues, with Mike Collins potentially facing subpoenas for allegations of illegal behavior by a congressional staffer.