Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) dealt Republicans a blow on Monday by taking his name out of consideration to run for Senate against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, leaving them stuck with a roster of weaker and less popular candidates for the position and potentially even aligning the stars for far-right and highly divisive Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to take a crack at the nomination.
But the Trump wing of the GOP can hardly complain about this state of affairs, Georgia-based GOP pundit Erick Erickson wrote on X following the announcement. After all, he pointed out, they have long attacked and put Kemp down.
"Georgia MAGA assailed Kemp for years, primaried him, got beat by him, made a big deal about voting 3rd party or not at all in the general election in 2022, and are now whining that Kemp won't run for the Senate," wrote Erickson. "Children."
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Kemp, who was first elected to the governorship in 2018, became an object of fury for Trump supporters, and the president himself, after Trump narrowly lost the state in the 2020 election, which helped remove him from power and elect former President Joe Biden. For years, Trump refused to acknowledge he had lost Georgia legitimately, and turned his anger on Kemp for now somehow helping him carry the state.
"Brian Kemp should focus his efforts on fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party! His Crime Rate in Georgia is terrible, his Crime Rate in Atlanta is the worst, and his Economy is average," wrote Trump last year on Truth Social, during the 2024 election.
He went on to accuse Kemp and his wife of standing by and letting Atlanta-based prosecutor Fani Willis bring criminal charges against him for election conspiracy. Kemp hit back, telling Trump to "leave my family out of it."
Ultimately, Trump and Kemp managed to shakily smooth things over just enough to allow a smooth Republican campaign in Georgia, where Trump managed to narrowly flip the state back into his column in that year's election.
