In a razor-thin race, Trump's complicated ties with Georgia's governor could matter

ATLANTA — When former President Donald Trump campaigned in Georgia on Monday, one of the state’s most popular Republican politicians was absent — Gov. Brian Kemp.

The former president’s ability to capture the Peach State after losing it four years ago could hinge in part on his complicated relationship with the governor.

The two fell out after 2020, when Kemp rebuffed Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s election result.

Kemp went on to a decisive reelection victory in 2022, even after Trump backed another Republican during the GOP primary for governor.

At an Atlanta rally in August, Trump had harsh words for Kemp, whose approval rating has hovered around 60%.

“He’s a disloyal guy and he’s a very average governor,” Trump told the crowd. “Little Brian, little Brian Kemp, bad guy.”

When Trump continued to slam one of the most popular politicians in a crucial swing state, many Republicans scratched their heads, given Kemp’s popularity and top-notch political operation.

Kemp has built up his own sophisticated political infrastructure, now seen by most operatives as far superior to the Georgia GOP. The state party has languished as it has helped foot hefty legal bills for Republicans facing criminal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.

“For Trump, Georgia is a must-win,” said Georgia Republican strategist Brian Robinson. “He learned a lesson pretty quick in August that going after Kemp was a bad strategic move.”

Though Kemp told reporters he cast a blank ballot in the GOP primary for president, he also said he would support the Republican nominee no matter what. Then, in a September Fox News interview, Kemp made clear — he was behind Trump. That opened the door for Trump and Kemp to patch things up.

In October, the two men shook hands not at a campaign event, but after Trump surveyed damage from Hurricane Helene in Georgia.

“Your governor is doing a fantastic job,” Trump told reporters.

Kemp's pitch has focused on the GOP record, not Trump

Still, it was unclear how much he would do to actively help Trump win Georgia. Kemp has not attended any Trump rallies so far this year.

But in the final weeks of the campaign, Kemp has hosted his own Get Out the Vote events, including a breakfast for an incumbent lawmaker in a tossup district. Inside a genteel Atlanta country club, Kemp barely nodded at the presidential race, beyond a dig at the Harris campaign’s roster of celebrity surrogates.

He did not mention Trump during his remarks. Instead, Kemp framed his pitch around Republicans’ record at the helm of state government, like cutting taxes.

Pressed by reporters after the breakfast event, Kemp affirmed he is still pulling for Trump, despite their history, which included Trump bashing Kemp’s wife, Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, at that August rally. The first lady had previously told a reporter she would likely write-in her husband’s name when she cast her vote in the November presidential election.

“This is not about me and it’s not about him,” the governor said. “It’s about the people of this country and what they want. Do they really think they were better off right now than they were four years ago?”

Kemp’s political action committees are spending on door knocking, phone calls, text messages and mail. The federal committee has focused its message on opposing Vice President Kamala Harris and is not boosting Trump by name in the literature.

“I want to win,” Kemp told reporters. “So we’re all fighting to make sure we win from the top of the ticket down all the way down to the bottom.”

Kemp and Trump need each other, Robinson said.

“If Donald Trump is president, he could be helpful or create a major hurdle for Brian Kemp and his future political endeavors,” he said.

Kemp is often mentioned as a possible contender for the U.S. Senate in 2026 or the presidency in 2028.

For Trump, Robinson said Kemp may give some suburban independents and Republicans uneasy about Trump permission to cast their ballots for the former president.

“I don’t want to oversell it,” Robinson said. “It is important. And it’s marginally important. But we have an election that will be determined on the margins.”

Many voters trust Kemp — and could be swayed by him

Standing in the back of the Kemp event wearing a floral dress, Tracey D’Arcy was one of the voters who is not enthusiastic about Trump or Harris. But D’Arcy said she trusts Kemp.

“I think he’s a very level person,” she said. “I think he is reasonable. It definitely weighs on which way I will decide to vote.”

D’Arcy described herself as center-right. She said she thinks the restrictive abortion law signed by Kemp banning most abortions after roughly six weeks is too tight and laments the tumult caused by the overturn of Roe v. Wade, which Trump has praised. But she’s also worried by Harris’ liberal record in the U.S. Senate.

As far as Trump’s efforts to pressure Kemp after the 2020 election, when he urged him to call a special legislative session to investigate allegations of election fraud, she said does not know enough about what happened to form a strong opinion.

“I would love it if we had different nominees for both parties, honestly,” D’Arcy said. “Nikki Haley would have been amazing.”

But Haley is not the nominee, so D’Arcy has to make a choice in a key state decided in 2020 by less than 12,000 votes.