- Gov. Kemp said it was “humbling” that his name has been floated as a GOP presidential candidate.
- Kemp in a recent interview with CBS-affiliate WRBL said that his priority was leading Georgia.
- But he left some wiggle room: “In politics, there are always doors opening and closing.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — who has been floated as a potential presidential candidate by Republicans seeking an alternative to former President Donald Trump — said on Wednesday that while it was “humbling” that some think he’d be a great commander-in-chief, his focused would remain on his current job.
During an interview with WRBL, a CBS television affiliate based in Columbus, Ga., Kemp remarked he was happy leading Georgia as he promoted the $200 million expansion of a Kia auto plant that will produce the company’s electric SUV.
But he also remarked on his name being mentioned as someone who could make a late entry into the 2024 GOP field, with some in the party beginning to question whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis can mount a credible challenge to Trump in the coming months.
“It’s humbling that there are people out there that think I would make a good president. But I have got a great job that I am very happy in,” the governor said.
“We’ve got really an opportunity of a lifetime right now in the state of Georgia as we see an industrial revolution happening right before our eyes. So I am staying very focused on that,” he continued. “That’s what I promised people I would do when I got re-elected.”
However, Kemp left some wiggle room in his comments, even as he previously said he wouldn’t seek the White House in 2024.
“In politics, there are always doors opening and closing,” he said. “I understand that. I never try to open something prematurely or close something too quickly.”
The governor — who was elected to a second term last fall by defeating Democratic star and former Georgia state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in a rematch of their 2018 contest — then stressed his opinion that a Republican would be best positioned to lead the country.
“There’s a lot of great Republicans running. A lot of friends of mine our running. We will keep an eye on the race. But one thing is for certain, we have got to beat Joe Biden,” he told WRBL. “This country is in a bad place right now. And I just think a Republican president will get the ox out of the ditch, if you will. And that’s what I am going to be working on, regardless of who our nominee is.”
