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Brian Kemp

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Brian Kemp
83rd Governor of Georgia
Assumed office
January 14, 2019
LieutenantGeoff Duncan
Burt Jones
Preceded byNathan Deal
27th Secretary of State of Georgia
In office
January 8, 2010 – November 8, 2018
GovernorSonny Perdue
Nathan Deal
Preceded byKaren Handel
Succeeded byRobyn Crittenden
Member of the Georgia Senate
from the 46th district
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byDoug Haines
Succeeded byBill Cowsert
Personal details
Born
Brian Porter Kemp

(1963-11-02) November 2, 1963 (age 60)
Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Marty Argo (m. 1994)
Children3
ResidenceGovernor's Mansion
EducationUniversity of Georgia (BS)
Signature

Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician and businessman. He has been the 83rd Governor of Georgia since 2019.

As a member of the Republican Party he was a state senator from 2003 to 2007, then became the 27th Secretary of State of Georgia from January 2010 to November 2018.[1]

Governor of Georgia[change | change source]

Kemp was the Republican nominee in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election.[2] He defeated Stacey Abrams in the general election in November 2018, but the election was controversial and many newspapers reported that he cheated.[3][4][5]

In his first term as governor, Kemp was against forcing people to wear face mask and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7] After the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, he faced criticism from President Donald Trump for following the state law that had him to approve the results, despite Trump's repeated false claims of fraud in the election.[8][9] 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.[10]

In his 2022 reelection campaign, former U.S. Senator David Perdue ran against Kemp in the Republican primary. Although Trump supported Perdue, Kemp beat Perdue in a landslide.[11][12] In the general election, Kemp defeated Abrams in a rematch by a wider margin than in 2018.[13]

Personal life[change | change source]

Kemp was born in Athens, Georgia to a family that had been in politics for a long time.[14] Some of his ancestors owned plantations with many slaves.[15] He studied at University of Georgia.

Kemp married Marty Argo, daughter of longtime Georgia House of Representatives member Bob Argo.[16] on January 8, 1994;[17] They have three daughters. The family belongs to Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens.[18]

References[change | change source]

  1. "SECRETARY KEMP TENDERS RESIGNATION TO GOVERNOR DEAL". Archived from the original on 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  2. Bluestein, Greg (July 24, 2018). "Georgia Republicans give nod to Kemp in governor's race". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  3. Board, Editorial. "Opinion | Georgia's voter suppression problem goes much deeper than Brian Kemp". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  4. Astor, Maggie (2019-03-06). "Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Faces Investigation by House Panel (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  5. CNN, Eli Watkins. "Jimmy Carter calls for Brian Kemp to resign as GA secretary of state". CNN. Retrieved 2020-10-25. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. Alan Judd; Greg Bluestein (May 1, 2020). "Lifting stay-at-home order, Kemp shifts focus to economic recovery". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  7. Jeremy Redmon; J. Scott Trubey; Willoughby Mariano (July 15, 2020). "Kemp bans cities, counties from mandating masks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  8. "Georgia election: Trump voter fraud claims and others fact-checked". BBC News. 2021-01-06. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  9. "Georgia Code Title 21. Elections § 21-2-499". Findlaw. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  10. Scanlan, Quinn (March 25, 2021). "Kemp signs sweeping elections bill passed by Georgia legislature. Here's what's in it". ABC News. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. Greenwood, Max (2022-05-25). "Kemp defeats Perdue in Georgia, a major blow to Trump". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  12. "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defeats David Perdue in GOP primary". AP News. 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  13. "Brian Kemp wins second term as Georgia's governor". WSB-TV. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  14. Brett, Jennifer. "'Solid': Republican Brian Kemp plays up rural roots, business bonafides". ajc. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  15. Lambert, Frank (2005). James Habersham: Loyalty, Politics, and Commerce in Colonial Georgia. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-2539-2.
  16. "Robert 'Bob' Argo, 92: Lawmaker was 'all Georgian, all the time'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 13, 2016. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  17. Brian Kemp Official Facebook (January 8, 2020). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  18. "Brian P. Kemp". Office of the Secretary of State of Georgia. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Brian Kemp at Wikimedia Commons