ATLANTA — When Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp campaigned for the position in 2018, he had the backing of then-President Donald Trump.
Since then, their relationship has become more complicated. 11Alive's Faith Jessie sat down with Kemp to discuss the current presidential election, as President Joe Biden and Trump remain frontrunners in each of their parties. The governor also shared his thoughts on voting bills passed, the controversial immigration legislation that he signed into law, and more.
Here's a look at some of the topics covered, starting with the governor's response about whether or not he would support Trump.
'I'm supporting the ticket'
Biden and Trump are preparing to go head-to-head in a debate next month in Atlanta. Gov. Kemp said the road to the White House runs through Georgia, and the debate's presence here shows how the state is at the center stage of the political universe.
"I think it's a great opportunity, as I've been saying, for Republicans and for President Trump to make the case of why people should vote for him," he said.
"I think there's an ability to really contrast that with President Biden, and I hope that's what he does," Kemp added
Kemp answered, "I'm supporting the ticket," as to whether he would endorse the former president.
"I'm going to continue to do that," he said. "We're building a ground game and raising money right now to help everybody from, you know, like Justice Andrew Pinson in the May primary to many legislators that we're supporting in the primary. We do the same thing in the general election and turning out the vote, and that is going to help our whole ticket all the way up to the top and the presidential race."
Kemp said he's "just a team player," adding, "I am going to support the Republican ticket from the bottom of the ticket all the way up to the top. And I've had people ask me, you know, 'why are you going to vote for somebody that was so mad at you and said so many bad things about you," he said. "Just simply because I think they'd be a better president than Joe Biden's been."
Georgia election bills
The governor recently signed another election bill into law. The Associated Press reported that Senate Bill 189 lists death, evidence of voting or registering in another jurisdiction, a tax exemption indicating a primary residence elsewhere, or a nonresidential address as probable causes for removing voters from the rolls.
Those opposed believe it could overwhelm election administrators and disenfranchise legitimate voters. Elections laws also differ due to Georgia's Election Integrity Act of 2021, or Law S.B. 202.
The law, which faced much scrutiny during its revision, has five central elements: restrictions on the use of drop boxes and mobile voting, changes in absentee and provisional ballots, and an expansion on where people can serve as poll workers.
"The same crowd that's saying things about 189 are the same people that were talking about how bad Senate Bill 202 is going to be," Kemp said "And, after we passed that bill ... we added days that people could vote early on the weekend, including Sunday, adding more accessibility for elections."
He said the legislature was methodical about what ended up in the final piece of the bill. He said he was very comfortable with Senate Bill 202 during the last election.
"The bill got where it was, and it passed, and I signed it," he said. "And that's the way the process is, and now we'll let that play out as we go into the next election."
Signing House Bill 1105
Gov. Kemp signed the immigration bill earlier this month. House Bill 1105 gained momentum after Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley was killed on the University of Georgia's campus in February. In her case, 26-year-old Venezuelan native Jose Ibarra was arrested and charged with her murder. As part of the investigation, authorities found that Ibarra had previously illegally entered the country.
The controversial measure requires police and sheriff's departments to identify undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and detain them for deportation by federal immigration authorities. Those against the bill were concerned it may increase discrimination against residents who may be here lawfully.
During the interview, Kemp acknowledged the opposition, including demonstrations that happened right outside the Governor's mansion.
"This is a state of almost 11 million people," he said. "And I think people were outraged, and I was too about the whole Laken Riley tragic murder that we saw and somebody that had broken into this country illegally and had been apprehended two different times and was still here, you know, and we didn't even know he was here."
Kemp said they talked to municipalities, sheriff's offices, and others about the bill.
"I think at the end of the day; we got a good piece of legislation that will help with the issue here, to make sure when somebody gets arrested that we're, you know, checking to make sure that they're here legally."
He added that he believes Americans are outraged by some of the tactics along the southern border of the country as it relates to security,
"I think 1105 does a good job of helping to keep our community safe," the governor said.
Looking ahead
When asked about the shape of the future, Kemp said he's not looking past 2024 at the moment.
"I think part of Republicans' problems are is that we've had too many people looking in the rearview mirror, what happened in the past -- and too many people looking too far ahead," he said, adding what he believes it takes to be successful.
"We need to stay focused on one thing, and that is winning in 2024. That's exactly what we did in 2022," he said.