(CNN) Georgia Govt Brian Kemp On Saturday, he urged his fellow Republicans to move on from the 2020 presidential race. President Donald Trump And his Continued election grievances.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Kemp said at a private Republican National Committee donor retreat in Nashville, “If you want to talk about the 2020 election being stolen, not a single swing voter in a swing state will vote for our candidate.”
“For voters who are trying to pay the rent … pay their car payments … or put their kids through college … 2020 is ancient history,” Kemp said, according to his prepared remarks obtained by CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Trump, who? He announced his re-election campaign Last fall, Republicans have repeatedly argued since leaving office that a successful future — at the ballot box or in the Legislature — can be achieved if they turn a blind eye to the past.
Tensions between Trump and Kemp have been simmering for years. When Kemp refused Beat Joe Biden’s 2020 win In Georgia, Trump has made the governor his No. 1 foe, publicly railed against him throughout 2021 and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue to challenge Kemp in the GOP primary. By the way, Trump Kemp couldn’t be drawn into a fightAnd the governor easily won his 2022 primary Defeated Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams In the November general election.
In the midterms, candidates supported Trump’s false election claims It was worse in key swing states The former president should win back the White House in 2024.
Further complicating Trump’s effort is a A cloud of legal complications. In New York, shortly before the 2016 election, he was the result of a payment to an adult film star. Indictment by Manhattan Grand Jury His alleged role in the scheme — the first time in US history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.
In Atlanta, there is an elected grand jury Examined the efforts of Trump and allies To overcome his election loss in Georgia in 2020.
Kemp addressed the probes directly on Saturday, in prepared remarks he called the probes distractions that could distract the Republican Party and take voters away from the issues they care about.
“Being distracted by what’s going on in the Manhattan and Fulton County District Attorney’s offices is not going to win back the White House in 2024,” Kemp said. “The media and the Democrats will love nothing more than to talk about this from sun up to sun down until next November.”
“But here’s the truth: The trials of Fannie Willis and Alvin Bragg on past convictions didn’t help hard-working Americans with higher grocery prices, pain at the gas pump or violent crime plaguing their neighborhoods,” he said, referring to district attorneys. Fulton County, Georgia and Manhattan respectively.
“Actually, the person they’re helping the most is Joe Biden.”
