Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp revealed Wednesday that he didn’t vote for former President Donald Trump in the state’s GOP primary in March.
“I didn’t vote for anybody. I voted, but I didn’t vote for anybody,” Kemp told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” the day before the historic presidential debate in his home state.”I mean, the race was already over when the primary got here,” he continued, later adding, “I always try to go vote and, you know, play a part in it, but look at that point, it didn’t really matter.”
Despite not voting for Trump in the primary, Kemp has maintained that he’ll “support the ticket” in November when Trump is set to face the presumptive Democratic nominee President Joe Biden.
“He was the presumptive nominee before the primary ever got here. I mean, I didn’t support anybody in the race,” Kemp told Collins of Trump. “I was thinking about it but, you know, just because a lot of circumstances and the way things played out, didn’t end up doing that, but said all along for the most part that I would support the ticket, and that’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m doing this November.”
Kemp had previously told reporters in March that he would support the GOP’s nominee in the general election, though he did not specify at the time whether he voted for Trump in the Republican primary.
The governor’s comments came on the eve of the first presidential debate, hosted by CNN, between Trump and Biden. He urged the former president, with whom he has a contentious past, to focus on the future – and not risk swing voters’ support – when he takes the podium in Atlanta.
“Trump has a great opportunity to really be forward thinking. Not look in the rearview mirror, not focused on the past, but stay focused on the future contrast,” Kemp said.
In the 2020 election, Trump lost the state of Georgia to Biden by over 11,000 votes. Biden became the first Democrat to win Georgia since former President Bill Clinton in 1992.
Kemp has clashed with the former president after he refused to call a special legislative session to help Trump as he sought overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Trump was so furious with Kemp, he pledged to end his political career and backed a primary challenger in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary. The move failed spectacularly and Kemp beat David Perdue by over 50 points.
While he said he hasn’t spoken with Trump directly and said there’s been no outreach from his campaign, Kemp suggested he could overlook the pair’s contentious history to advance Republican causes.
“We’ll see how the race plays out and what they might ask for or need. But, I mean, like right now I’m focused on turning the ticket out so we win. I mean, regardless of, you know, our history together, I have a vested interest in Georgia remaining in Republican hands,” Kemp said.
Asked whether he was concerned that Trump would again try to overturn the election, Kemp said he is “very confident” democracy would hold.
“I don’t worry about the institutions of democracy too much – they held up under a lot of pressure,” he said. “Democracy has been bent and challenged in this republic in the past and it will be in the future. But I’m very confident that it will hold.”