Global InformationBrian Kemp information
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 |
| 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 November 2, 1963 Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Marty Argo (m. 1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Education | University of Georgia (BS) |
| Signature |  |
Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving since January 2019 as the 83rd governor of Georgia.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] Abrams accused Kemp of voter suppression, which he denied.[5] News outlets and political science experts have found no evidence that voter suppression affected the result of the election.[6][7][8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13]
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.[14][15] In the general election, Kemp defeated Abrams in a rematch by a wider margin than in 2018; she conceded defeat on election night.[16]
- ^ "Swearing-in dates of state legislators elected on November 6, 2018". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "Conservative Small Businessman Brian Kemp Running For Governor". Kemp for Governor. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ undefined. "Georgia voters to get credit monitoring in massive data breach". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Blinder, Alan (November 8, 2018). "Brian Kemp Resigns as Georgia Secretary of State, With Governor's Race Still Disputed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ Multiple sources state that Abrams did not concede:
- Hurt, Emma (November 18, 2020). "Trump Hasn't Conceded Georgia. Neither Did Stacey Abrams. What Changed?". NPR. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- Bowden, John (December 13, 2020). "Stacey Abrams rejects comparison between her refusal to concede and Trump's". The Hill. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- "Why Stacey Abrams Is Still Saying She Won". The New York Times. April 28, 2019. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- Lee, Ella. "Fact check: Post online about Stacey Abrams' 2018 run for Georgia governor is partly false". USA Today. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- Dan Merica. "Abrams defends lack of concession after 2018 gubernatorial loss". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ Washington, District of Columbia 1800 I. Street NW; Dc 20006. "PolitiFact - No proof voter suppression kept Stacey Abrams from governorship, as Democrats said in Atlanta debate". PolitiFact. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Lee, Ella. "Fact check: Post online about Stacey Abrams' 2018 run for Georgia governor is partly false". USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Analysis | Did racially motivated voter suppression thwart Stacey Abrams?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Alan Judd; Greg Bluestein (May 1, 2020). "Lifting stay-at-home order, Kemp shifts focus to economic recovery". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Jeremy Redmon; J. Scott Trubey; Willoughby Mariano (July 15, 2020). "Kemp bans cities, counties from mandating masks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ "Georgia election: Trump voter fraud claims and others fact-checked". BBC News. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ "Georgia Code Title 21. Elections § 21-2-499". Findlaw. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Scanlan, Quinn (March 25, 2021). "Kemp signs sweeping elections bill passed by Georgia legislature. Here's what's in it". ABC News. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ Greenwood, Max (May 25, 2022). "Kemp defeats Perdue in Georgia, a major blow to Trump". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defeats David Perdue in GOP primary". AP News. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ "Brian Kemp wins second term as Georgia's governor". WSB-TV. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.