Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump met quietly Saturday in Washington to discuss unifying behind a Republican Senate candidate in Georgia, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.
It was not immediately clear if the two reached an agreement over backing the same contender in the wide-open race against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, but one person described the meeting as productive.
Kemp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week he anticipated a conversation with Trump in hopes of combining forces behind a candidate, though he cautioned that coming to a consensus is “hard to do in primaries.”
Republican leaders are eager to avoid a messy primary that could complicate GOP efforts to win back the seat. Ossoff narrowly won office in a 2021 runoff and is one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents on next year‘s ballot.
Other candidates aren’t waiting on word from Kemp or Trump. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter of St. Simons Island entered the race days after the governor passed on a bid. Insurance Commissioner John King launched his campaign Monday.
Both previously told the AJC they plan to move forward regardless of whether they earn endorsements from either Kemp or Trump, the two most powerful forces in Georgia GOP politics. And both have positioned themselves as stalwart Trump loyalists.
Carter and King, along with nearly a dozen other potential Republican entrants, are aiming for a slice of the Venn diagram where Kemp’s mainstream network and Trump’s MAGA movement overlap — a tricky space that’s been tough to navigate in past Georgia races.
Other potential contenders include U.S. Reps. Mike Collins of Jackson and Brian Jack of Peachtree City; Georgia Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy; Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; and a half-dozen other GOP state and federal officials.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ruled out a bid on Friday.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
For now, the declared candidates are working to build enough momentum early to derail any attempt to halt their campaigns. Carter, for one, told the “Politically Georgia” podcast he’s running even if Kemp and Trump back someone else.
“I believe God’s got a plan,” said Carter, who booked an ad buy worth more than $2 million to promote his bid.
“I believe that he has opened a door for me, and I need to step through that door and make sure that we fulfill our obligation,” Carter added. “And at the end of the day, I think that I can make the case that I am the true conservative, the MAGA warrior.”
King, who was appointed by Kemp to the statewide post in 2019, also said in an interview he wants to be the “logical candidate that both camps can get behind.”
“I have to show that I deserve that support, and the only way we can do that is by making our case,” said King. “The president, I expect him not to throw his name and support anybody — unless they earn it.”
The meeting between Kemp and Trump is a remarkable moment in the once-fraught relationship, dating back six years.
After Kemp tapped executive Kelly Loeffler to an open U.S. Senate seat in 2019, Trump was upset he didn’t have more influence in the decision. His supporters urged then-U. S. Rep. Doug Collins to enter the race.
That led to a bitter, prolonged battle for Trump’s favor that divided the party’s base and gave Democrat Raphael Warnock a chance to consolidate his support.
Trump has since tapped both Collins and Loeffler to his Cabinet, while Warnock won a full six-year term in 2022. And he and Kemp only just recently reached a truce in their yearslong feud and have publicly appeared together several times since.
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