When Gov. Brian Kemp recently extended a gas tax break he took a shot at President Joe Biden in his order. When he unveiled plans to attend a ritzy Swiss conference next week, he promised to “fight the good fight” for conservatives on the global stage.
And so much of the governor’s State of the State address on Thursday targeted Washington’s “dysfunction” that even some fellow Republicans wondered, half-jokingly, whether he was auditioning to be someone’s running mate.
Entering the second year of his second term, Kemp has never really stopped campaigning.
He batters “Bidenflation” and liberal policies whenever given a chance. He deployed his political machine to help vulnerable GOP legislators long before they face the voters.
And despite his feud with former President Donald Trump, Kemp is still willing to back him if it means defeating Biden in November and returning Georgia to the red column.
Why the bruising political style for a term-limited governor with no reelection looming? It’s partly because he’s trying to stay in the national mix and keep his political options open as a potential challenger to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff or a possible contender for the White House.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
It’s also a way to keep burnishing his political power as he delves deeper into his last years as governor — and ambitious up-and-comers maneuver to replace him.
Most of all, it might be Kemp’s nature. Friends and advisers describe him as a restless soul who is often at his sharpest when he’s on the stump advocating for his conservative philosophy.
“The governor is uniquely positioned, given the magnitude of what he went through, to have a national voice in the party,” said John Watson, a former Georgia GOP chair. “He keeps it simple and really clear about what the objective is for Republicans — beating Biden.”
The “what he went through” is back-to-back conquests of a Trump-backed challenger and then a rematch win over Democratic star Stacey Abrams.
Kemp won that race partly by avoiding a head-on confrontation with Trump and keeping his focus on Biden and his Democratic allies.
After his reelection victory, Kemp took a series of shots at Trump, including calling him the “loser” of the first GOP debate for no-showing the event. But he’s backed off as the former president has seemingly solidified his standing atop many state and national polls.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Instead, Kemp seems to be approaching the 2024 election with the same blueprint he followed in 2022. That is, to keep his focus on Democratic candidates and Republican policies — and away from Trump’s brand.
“I have no idea what his future political plans are, if any,” said Brian Robinson, a veteran Republican strategist. “But when you hear him give major speeches there are always lines that he could use in a future Republican primary — and nothing that could be used against him.”
That strategy shaped Kemp’s State of the State address, where over 34 minutes he peppered his remarks with swipes at “failed” Washington policies — a stand-in for Biden and his congressional allies.
“Washington, D.C., forgot a long time ago that it’s not the brilliance of politicians or the good intentions of a new program that make our nation great,” he said in one characteristic jab. “It’s the resolve, ingenuity and character of the American people.”
Democrats, who sat in stony silence through each blow, said the green energy jobs bonanza and overflowing state coffers that Kemp touted were thanks to the far-reaching federal stimulus and climate change packages that Biden passed over GOP objections.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
“When you hear Republicans insert the word ‘Biden’ in their speeches, it’s really about trying to keep their base satisfied,” shrugged state Rep. Billy Mitchell, one of the Legislature’s senior Democrats. “What you heard here will just be multiplied and amplified by 10 during the election season. Let the games begin.”
Kemp plans to take the same message to the Swiss resort town of Davos next week, where the World Economic Forum has invited him for a second consecutive year to join some of the world’s most powerful business and political leaders.
He said in an interview that he will deliver much the same message that he offered last year, when he clashed with Democratic leaders over immigration policy and Biden’s economic agenda. Soon, he was getting texts from skeptics of his travel saying, “Give them hell over there.”
“We have to sell our ideas anywhere we can,” he said, adding: “And there’s just not a lot of Republicans willing to go do that.”
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