Brian Kemp Bio
Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Georgia’s 27th secretary of state from 2010 to 2018 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007. Before entering politics, he operated businesses in agriculture, financial services, and real estate and worked as a home builder and developer.
Kemp first won the governorship in 2018 in a closely watched contest against Democrat Stacey Abrams, a race that drew national attention and accusations of voter suppression, which he denied. He won reelection in 2022 in a rematch with Abrams, this time by a wider margin. He is the first Republican since Reconstruction to be elected governor of Georgia who was not a former Democrat.
Brian Kemp Early Life and Background
Early Life and Background
Brian Porter Kemp was born on November 2, 1963, in Athens, Georgia, the son of William L. Kemp II. He comes from a prominent Georgia family with a long history of political involvement, and his maternal grandfather, Julian H. Cox, served in the Georgia Legislature.
Kemp attended the private Athens Academy until ninth grade before transferring to Clarke Central High School, where he played football under coach Billy Henderson. He graduated from Clarke Central in 1982. In 1987, he completed his studies at the University of Georgia, where he majored in agriculture.
Brian Kemp Path to US Politics
Path to US Politics
Before running for office, Kemp built a career in the private sector as a home builder and developer. He founded Kemp Properties, a property management and real estate investment business, and was a founding director of First Madison Bank. He also served on the St. Mary’s Hospital Board. These roles gave him experience in agriculture, financial services, and real estate, the fields he has often cited in his political life.
Kemp took his first step into electoral politics in 2002, when he was elected to the Georgia State Senate. He defeated the Democratic incumbent, Doug Haines, in District 46. Two years later, he ran for Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia but finished second in the primary and lost the runoff to Gary Black. These early campaigns helped establish his standing within the Republican Party in Georgia.
Brian Kemp Career
Early Career (2003–2007)
Kemp served as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007, representing District 46. During his time in the Senate, he focused on agricultural and rural issues, drawing on his background in farming and agribusiness. He also continued to manage his private business interests during his legislative tenure.
In 2006, Kemp sought the Republican nomination for Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia. He advanced to a runoff but lost to Gary Black. Although unsuccessful, the race raised his profile among Republican voters and party leaders, and it positioned him for a later appointment to statewide office.
Breakthrough (2010–2014)
Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Kemp as Georgia Secretary of State in early 2010. Later that year, he won a full term with about 56 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Georganna Sinkfield. He was reelected in 2014. In that role, he oversaw the state’s elections, voter registration system, and professional licensing boards.
His tenure as secretary of state was marked by a series of controversies. In 2015, his office disclosed the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of 6.2 million Georgia voters through a routine data release. A later security flaw exposed the personal information of more than six million voters to researchers at Kennesaw State University. Kemp was also the only state election official to reject assistance from the Department of Homeland Security ahead of the 2016 election.
Republican Era (2019–Present)
Kemp was inaugurated as the 83rd governor of Georgia on January 14, 2019. In his first term, he signed a highly restrictive abortion law, known as the “heartbeat bill,” and pursued policies that opposed face mask mandates and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, he signed Senate Bill 202, which expanded early in-person voting while also enacting new ID requirements for absentee voting and giving the state legislature more control over local election administration.
After the 2020 presidential election, Kemp faced sharp criticism from President Donald Trump for certifying Georgia’s results, which showed Joe Biden winning the state. Trump publicly called for Kemp’s resignation, and speculation grew that he would face a Trump-backed primary challenger. In 2022, former U.S. Senator David Perdue entered the Republican primary with Trump’s endorsement, but Kemp defeated him in a landslide. He went on to defeat Stacey Abrams in the general election and was sworn in for a second term on January 9, 2023. In 2024, he endorsed Trump for president.
Notable Events and Milestones
Kemp’s 2018 victory over Stacey Abrams made him the first Republican since Reconstruction to win the Georgia governancy without previously being a Democrat, and the race was decided by about 54,723 votes, the closest gubernatorial contest in Georgia since 1966. In 2019, he signed the nation’s most restrictive abortion law at the time, and in 2020, he became one of the last governors to issue a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic. His 2022 landslide primary win over a Trump-backed challenger and his subsequent general election victory over Abrams solidified his hold on the governorship.
Brian Kemp Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Kemp was born into a prominent Georgia family with deep roots in state politics. His father, William L. Kemp II, and his maternal grandfather, Julian H. Cox, both had ties to public life in Georgia, with Cox serving as a member of the Georgia Legislature. The family’s longstanding involvement in agriculture and business shaped Kemp’s early interests and later informed his political priorities.
Personal Life
Kemp married Marty Argo, the daughter of longtime Georgia House of Representatives member Bob Argo, on January 8, 1994. The couple has three daughters, and the family attends Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens. In 2018, Kemp was involved in a civil lawsuit over a $500,000 business loan, which was settled shortly before he became governor.