Kemp to serve as Republican Governors Association chair

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) will be the next chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), the group announced on Wednesday, following an election at the RGA’s annual conference.

Kemp is stepping up from his role as 2024 vice chair to take the reins, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) will succeed him as the 2025 vice chair. Both are starting immediately in the new roles for a one-year term.

There are two notable gubernatorial races on the horizon for 2025 — in New Jersey and Virginia — and RGA is a vital organization behind electing and supporting GOP governors.

“Republican governors are making commonsense, conservative policies a reality, putting families and children first, and making our states the best places to run a business and raise a family,” Kemp said in a statement.

Kemp said he looks forward to working with fellow GOP governors and President-elect Trump to “keep getting the job done for the American people and to add even more Republican governors to our ranks.”

Trump and Kemp notably appeared to put to rest a longstanding feud over the summer as the former president set his sights on Georgia in the presidential race. Trump won the Peach State in 2016 then lost it in 2020, when Georgia became central in Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud. Trump flipped the state back into the GOP column this month.

Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams to win a second term in a high-profile fight during the 2022 midterms, but he’s term-limited and will not be eligible to seek reelection come 2026. His ascension to the top RGA slot comes amid speculation about whether he’ll challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in two years or run for the White House in 2028.

Kemp replaces outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), who helmed the RGA through 2024. Lee will shift to serve on the group’s 2025 executive committee along with a half-dozen other GOP governors: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R), Missouri Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe (R), Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) will serve as policy chair, the group said.

Across the aisle, Democratic governors are forming a line of resistance against the incoming Trump administration, as Republicans are set to take a trifecta of control over the White House and Congress next year.

The GOP is in control of 27 governor's mansions, compared to 23 led by Democrats, after no seats flipped this fall.