Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, one of the few GOP leaders who hasn’t always agreed publicly with President Donald Trump, this week warned his party against infighting, particularly before the midterm elections.
Kemp told Politico: “We cannot be a party of one.” He added, “We have to be a big-tent party.”
Kemp is responding to the widely reported schism on the right over such issues as the Iran war, the Epstein files, and the failure to constrain spending as the U.S. deficit continues to rise. A recent article in Politico, “Trump made the GOP a big-tent party. Now, he’s stuck with the infighting,” reflects the trend.
[NOTE: After the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Kemp faced criticism from Trump for following state law that required him to certify the election results, despite Trump’s repeated false claims about fraud in the election. In 2022, Trump endorsed former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) to run against Kemp; Kemp beat Perdue in a landslide.]
GOP Gov. @BrianKempGA has a warning for his party: Stop the infighting, or risk losing control of Congress and key races.
“We cannot be a party of one,” Kemp tells our @jmart. “We have to be a big-tent party.”
Watch the exclusive interview: https://t.co/J0M3IfIbcw pic.twitter.com/HJqxmxyfpV
— POLITICO (@politico) April 14, 2026
Georgia-based Trump critics are responding to Kemp’s warning, including one commenter who asserted, “The GOP is a party of one, and the big tent is a circus tent.”
[NOTE: Kemp and his wife, First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp, have been busy campaigning for Dewey Dooley, who is running in the Republican primary for the chance to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff.]
We just wrapped up our first stop of the day in St. Marys. Next stop, Charlton County! pic.twitter.com/H5gQhxvD1V
— Derek Dooley (@DerekDooleyGA) March 16, 2026
Dooley, former head football coach at Louisiana Tech and the University of Tennessee, complained last week about “typical D.C. politicians” who “get obsessed with power and will do anything to keep it, even if it means using taxpayer dollars to run their own campaign ads.”
He pointed to an Axios report that lists his GOP primary opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), as one spending taxpayer dollars on such ads.
This is exactly what’s wrong with typical D.C. politicians — including my opponent.
They get obsessed with power and will do anything to keep it, even if it means using taxpayer dollars to run their own campaign ads.
That’s why we need new leadership willing to stand up and…
— Derek Dooley (@DerekDooleyGA) April 6, 2026
Collins, who called Kemp’s endorsement of Dooley “interference” and criticized the Governor for “running around” and “holding the hand” of Dooley, also said he sees himself as the MAGA candidate in the race, aiming to bridge the gap between that base and more moderate Republicans.
[NOTE: U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Jonathan McColumn, and John Coyne are also running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Georgia scheduled for May 19, 2026.]