New Republican Governors chair, pointing to campaign battles ahead, touts ‘our policies are better’

FIRST ON FOX — Gov. Brian Kemp, the new chair of the Republican Governors Association, is aiming to build on the GOP momentum coming out of the 2024 elections as he looks ahead to the next gubernatorial showdowns.

“We’ve had great successes,” the popular GOP governor of Georgia told Fox News Digital as he pointed to President-elect Trump’s 2024 victory as well as Republican gubernatorial, congressional and down-ballot triumphs this month.

Republicans held onto their 27-23 gubernatorial advantage in the 2024 elections, thanks in part to the efforts of the RGA.

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Republican presidential nominee former President Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Looking ahead, New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections next year, giving them outsized national attention and making them key barometers for the mood of Americans during the start of a new presidential term.

A competitive GOP primary is underway in blue-state New Jersey, where Republicans hope to win a gubernatorial election for the first time in a dozen years.

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And in Virginia, the GOP is rallying around Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears as she aims to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin [Virginia governors can only serve one consecutive four-year term] and make history as the state’s first woman governor and the nation’s first Black female governor.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (Kristen Zeis/For Washington Post via Getty Images)

“We’re ready to keep working as we move into what will be a tough cycle for us in Virginia, in New Jersey, and then having 36 races in 2026,” Kemp said last week in his first interview after being elected RGA chair at the group’s annual winter meeting, which was held this year at a waterfront resort in Marco Island, Florida.

Kemp emphasized that “my goal is for us to continue to raise enough money to be competitive. The Democrats are outspending us because they have big check writers, but we have a lot of really dedicated donors. We’ll try to continue to build the tent, make sure that we have good candidates and win because our policies are better.”

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Kemp said his own comfortable re-election in 2022 and Trump’s victory in battleground Georgia this month in the presidential election “gives us a lot of confidence, a lot of hope, but we also know that the ’26 midterm is going to be tough.” 

Kemp is term-limited and can’t seek another term in office in 2026. The contest to succeed him will be a top gubernatorial election in two years.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (Fox News)

“I’m going to be very engaged, you can rest assured, to making sure that my [successors] are Republican. I have a vested interest in doing that,” Kemp said. “We’ll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that’s happening not only in Georgia but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor’s races. So we’re going to be on offense.”

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Georgia will also have a high-profile Senate showdown as Republicans aim to defeat Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026.

Asked if he’ll be courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff, Kemp responded, “Well, I may.”

But he quickly pivoted, stressing that “my focus right now, being just elected the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is on raising money for us to be competitive in 2025 and 2026. I’ve made the commitment to do that, and I’m going to fulfill that commitment. We’ll see what happens down the road with anything else.”

Asked if he’s not ruling out a possible 2026 Senate bid or even a 2028 White House run, the governor said, “I try to keep all doors open in politics.”