Dem
51
GOP
49
Brian Kemp just came off a solid reelection victory for governor of Georgia. By all rights, he should be taking it easy now, at most thinking about his legislative program for next year. But he is not doing that. He is out on the hustings, frantically campaigning for Herschel Walker, the protégé of his nemesis Donald Trump. And not only is he making appearances with Walker at gun stores, he has put his entire campaign apparatus, from door knocking to phone banking, to microtargeting at Walker's disposal. Chris Christie joked that if Walker wins, Kemp would be the "first human being who's ever dragged Herschel Walker over the goal line." But this is not political theater. Kemp is really doing everything he possibly can to elect someone to the Senate he very well knows does not belong there. What's going on here?
Kemp is not doing this to make up with Trump and he probably doesn't really care if the Republicans have 49 or 50 seats in the Senate since his focus is Georgia politics, not national politics. No, Kemp is genuinely working his a** off on account of a guy name Ossoff. Kemp wants to show Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the national Republicans that he is a team player. Specifically, his second and final term as governor ends in January 2027, the same time the term of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) ends. Kemp will be 63 then and is clearly thinking of his next act. It is pretty obvious that he is trying ingratiate himself with McConnell, the NRSC, and Senate Republicans so that when 2026 comes around, they will support him (and get the big donors to support him) in the GOP primary. So this is the opening shot of the 2026 battle for the Senate: Kemp vs. Ossoff.
Walker is probably going to lose today, but everyone will blame Trump and no one will blame Kemp for that. Senate Republicans fully understand that they have a "candidate quality" problem in Georgia and its not Kemp's fault. What they will see is that Kemp is genuinely doing everything he possibly can to help Walker now—despite his totally ignoring Walker in the run-up to the general election, when he was afraid Walker might pull him down and hurt his own chances. McConnell and the other GOP leaders understand the bind he was in and see that now that he is safe, he is doing what he can for the team. He could have just sat back and watched Walker go down in flames and then blame Trump. He's not doing that and he hopes they will remember this in 2026. If they don't, he is sure to remind them in a couple of years. (V)