Brian Kemp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brian Kemp
Kemp in 2023
83rd Governor of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Lieutenant	Geoff Duncan (2019–2023) Burt Jones (2023–present)
Preceded by	Nathan Deal
Chair of the Republican Governors Association
Incumbent
Assumed office November 20, 2024
Preceded by	Bill Lee
27th Secretary of State of Georgia
In office January 8, 2010 – November 8, 2018
Governor	Sonny Perdue Nathan Deal
Preceded by	Karen Handel
Succeeded by	Robyn Crittenden
Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 46th district
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Doug Haines
Succeeded by	Bill Cowsert
Personal details
Born	Brian Porter Kemp (1963-11-02) November 2, 1963 (age 61) Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Marty Argo ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	3
Residence	Georgia Governor's Mansion
Education	University of Georgia (BS)
Signature

Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 to 2018, and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007.

Kemp is a graduate of the University of Georgia. Before entering politics, he owned several agribusinesses, financial services, and real estate companies. 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 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 from Democrats. Kemp narrowly won the general election and resigned as secretary of state shortly thereafter. Abrams accused Kemp of voter suppression, 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, 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 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 in the Republican primary. Although Trump endorsed Perdue, Kemp defeated Perdue in a landslide. In the general election, Kemp defeated Abrams in a rematch by a wider margin than in 2018; she conceded defeat on election night.

Early life

Kemp was born in Athens, Georgia, the son of William L. Kemp II, into a prominent family with a history of political power. Kemp's grandfather Julian H. Cox was a member of the Georgia Legislature.

Kemp went to the private Athens Academy until ninth grade, when he transferred to Clarke Central High School to play football for Billy Henderson; he graduated in 1983. He later graduated from the University of Georgia, where he majored in agriculture.

Early 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

Kemp with U.S. Senator David Perdue in February 2017, in his state Capitol office.

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 that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Amid Russian interference in the 2016 election, Kemp denounced the Obama administration's efforts to strengthen election system security, including improving access to federal cybersecurity assistance, calling the efforts an assault on states' rights.

After narrowly winning the 2018 gubernatorial election, Kemp resigned as secretary of state in anticipation of becoming governor.

Gubernatorial elections

2018

Final results by county in 2018:

     Brian Kemp

     >90%
     80–90%
     70–80%
     60–70%
     50–60%

     Stacey Abrams

     80–90%
     70–80%
     60–70%
     50–60%
     40–50%

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 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.

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 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.

2022

Final results by county in 2022:

     Brian Kemp

     >90%
     80–90%
     70–80%
     60–70%
     50–60%

     Stacey Abrams

     80–90%
     70–80%
     60–70%
     50–60%

During the primary election, Kemp was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence. He faced a primary challenge from former U.S. Senator David Perdue, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump 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.

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 with his wife Marty as he takes the oath of office as Georgia's 83rd governor

Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden, Maj. Gen. Joe Jarrard, and Governor Brian Kemp review the troops during the Georgia National Guard change of command ceremony on Clay National Guard Center January 26, 2019. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Tori Miller.

Kemp was inaugurated as governor in a public ceremony in Atlanta on January 14, 2019. He was inaugurated for his second term on January 9, 2023.

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.

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 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 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. He was among the last governors to issue a stay-at-home order, as a national emergency 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.

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

Kemp speaking at the American Embassy in Jerusalem in 2023

In an April 2019 Atlanta Journal-Constitution (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 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.

Personal life

Kemp married Marty Argo, daughter of longtime Georgia House of Representatives 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 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 reported that companies Kemp owned 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

See also

In Spanish: Brian Kemp para niños