Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump have largely avoided attacking each other over the last year, after Kemp rejected Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. But the détente may be wearing thin, as top lieutenants in Trump’s political orbit believe Kemp is going rogue in the Georgia Senate race.
The governor himself was everyone’s top choice to run for Senate in what Republicans believe is their top pickup opportunity of the cycle. But when the popular governor decided not to run, there was a conversation between Kemp and the White House that ended in an agreement: Let’s work together.
The understanding was, according to three sources familiar with the deal, that Kemp, the White House and the Senate GOP’s campaign arm — the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senate Leadership Fund — would work together to find the right candidate to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.