EXCLUSIVE: As the field of GOP presidential candidates grows but struggles to gain ground on Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats have increasingly noticed that one of the figures best-positioned to take on the former president remains on the sidelines.
Of course, Kemp staying open to a run preserves his strategic options for 2024 and beyond. He just launched a federal PAC to boost his profile, for instance, and the presidential speculation could help fill its coffers—helpful if Kemp decides to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, as many believe he might.
“All along, we’ve taken his moves to be he’s positioning himself as a VP candidate if Trump doesn’t get the nomination,” said a senior Georgia Democrat. “I do think he holds out until the end to stop Trump and uses that to fuel his own name into immediate VP contention.” Having survived Trump’s onslaught while maintaining his conservative credibility and appeal with independents, Kemp might have more future potential at this juncture than anyone else in today’s GOP, a party filled with also-rans or ambitious younger politicians beholden to Trump.
Ultimately, Kemp could credibly go to bat for whichever one of them gets within striking distance of Trump. Georgia’s place on the primary calendar—a week after Super Tuesday—means that a Kemp endorsement could push them toward a critical victory in the delegate-rich state. “Kemp could be a real everyman, all-American boy asset to someone like DeSantis because he excels at interpersonal politics,” said Brian Robinson, a veteran Georgia Republican operative. “A non-Trump candidate would be crazy to not publicly float him on their list.”
According to several GOP and Democratic sources, the sequence of events goes something like this: one or both of the current front-runners, Trump or DeSantis, crashes in some significant or dramatic way.
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