New Republican Governors Association chair says 'focus' is on helping Trump get 'off to a strong start'

MARCO ISLAND, FL - EXCLUSIVE - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the new chair of the Republican Governors Association, says a top mission for GOP governors going forward will be helping President-elect Trump.

Kemp highlighted in a Fox News Digital interview that Republican governors spent the past four years "pushing back" on President Biden's administration.

And speaking to the media for the first time after being elected RGA chair at the group's annual winter meeting - held this year at a waterfront resort in southwest Florida - the popular conservative two-term governor said on Wednesday that "we need to focus on making sure that we're getting the Trump administration off to a strong start."

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For two years following his 2020 election loss to President Biden, Trump heavily criticized Kemp for refusing to help overturn his razor-thin defeat in Georgia.

Trump urged, and then supported, a 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary challenge against Kemp by former Sen. David Perdue. But the former president toned down his criticism of the governor after Kemp crushed Perdue to easily win renomination on his way to re-election.

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But Trump, at a rally in Atlanta in August, unexpectedly went on a tirade against the Georgia governor - only to publicly praise Kemp just a few weeks later in a major about-face for the former president. And the two politicians teamed up in October - for the first time in four years - to survey hurricane damage in Georgia.

Kemp, looking forward to working again with a Republican White House administration, said that "from the governors' perspective, we've got two years to make them successful and help them be successful up there, and to undo what the Biden-Harris administration has done."

Republicans held onto the 27-23 gubernatorial advantage in this month's elections, thanks in part to the efforts of the RGA.

"We're ready to keep working as we move into what will be a tough cycle for us in Virginia, in New Jersey [the only two states to hold elections for governor in 2025] and then having 36 races in 2026."

Kemp emphasized that "my goal is for us to continue to raise enough money to be competitive. The Democrats are out spending us because they have big check writers, but we have a lot of really dedicated donors. We'll try to continue to build the tent, make sure that we have good candidates and win because our policies are better."

Kemp said his comfortable re-election in 2022 and Trump's victory in Georgia earlier this month in the presidential election "gives us a lot of confidence, a lot of hope, but we also know that the '26 midterm is going to be tough." 

Kemp is term-limited and can't seek another term in office in 2026. The contest to succeed him will be a top gubernatorial election in two years.

"I'm gonna be very engaged, you can rest assured, to making sure that my [successors] are Republican. I have a vested interest in doing that," Kemp said. "We'll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that's happening not only in Georgia, but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor's races. So we're going to be on offense."

Georgia will also have a high-profile Senate showdown, as Republicans aim to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026.

Asked if he'll be courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff, Kemp responded "well, I may."

But he quickly pivoted, stressing that "my focus right now, being just elected the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is on raising money for us to be competitive in 2025 and 2026. I've made the commitment to do that, and I'm gonna fulfill that commitment. We'll see what happens down the road with anything else."

Asked if he's not ruling out a possible 2026 Senate bid or even a 2028 White House run, the governor diplomatically said "I try to keep all doors open in politics."