{"id":2319806,"date":"2024-08-06T05:19:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T09:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-gop-tries-to-refocus-on-harris-after-trump-kemp-spat-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-06T05:20:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T09:20:27","slug":"georgia-gop-tries-to-refocus-on-harris-after-trump-kemp-spat-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-gop-tries-to-refocus-on-harris-after-trump-kemp-spat-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia GOP tries to refocus on Harris after Trump\/Kemp spat &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgia-gop-tries-to-refocus-on-harris-after-trump-kemp-spat-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2319806&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u200c discusses the ongoing conflict between Georgia Republicans, particularly focusing on former President Donald Trump and Governor Brian \u2062Kemp. The tension stems\u2064 from\u2062 Kemp&#8217;s refusal to\u200b support Trump&#8217;s baseless claims of election\u200d fraud\u200d following \u2064the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-is-going-on-minnesota-and-wisconsin-both-had-89-90-turnout-something-that-is-highly-unlikely\/\" title=\"What is Going On? Minnesota and Wisconsin BOTH had 89%-90% Turnout -- Something That Is Highly Unlikely\">2020 presidential election<\/a>. Recently, Trump criticized Kemp\u2064 publicly, suggesting he should concentrate\u200c on issues like crime instead of attacking fellow Republicans, which Kemp rebutted by emphasizing his commitment to\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kemp-responds-to-trumps-attacks-my-focus-is-on-winning-this-november-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Kemp responds to Trump\u2019s attacks: \u2018My focus is on winning this November\u2019 - Washington Examiner\">winning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-owens-gop-can-win-big-in-2022-2024\/\" title=\"Rep. Owens: GOP can win big in 2022, 2024\">upcoming elections<\/a><\/a> and urged Trump to \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/my-former-friends-have-joined-the-fascists\/\" title=\"My Former Friends Have Joined the Fascists\">avoid personal attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Trump&#8217;s \u200bendorsement helping Kemp win the governorship in 2018, their relationship has soured over the years. Political analysts suggest that the success of Republicans in \u200dGeorgia, particularly in the upcoming elections against \u2062the backdrop of Vice President Kamala Harris, hinges on \u2062party unity. Some party \u200coperatives believe defining and defeating the Democratic nominee should \u2063be the priority, while others express concerns over Trump&#8217;s approach,\u2064 fearing it may alienate some voters who\u2062 support Kemp. The article captures the challenge Republicans face in \u200dreconciling their internal \u200bdivisions while facing a \u2064Democratic opposition that has gained strength in Georgia.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Georgia GOP tries to refocus on Harris after Trump tackles Kemp<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1722151\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Georgia Republicans are doing their best to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3110055\/kemp-responds-to-trumps-attacks-my-focus-is-on-winning-this-november\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"look forward\">look forward<\/a> rather than backward amid an intraparty spat that just won&rsquo;t go away.<\/p>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>, GOP presidential nominee, and Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brian-kemp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Brian Kemp\">Brian Kemp<\/a> (R-GA) have had beef since late 2020, when Kemp refused to entertain Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terry-mcauliffe-championed-stolen-election-conspiracy-theory-for-years\/\" title=\"Terry McAuliffe Championed Stolen Election Conspiracy Theory for Years\">stolen election claims<\/a>. The two have never really aligned since then, a feud that cropped up again over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Brian Kemp should focus his efforts on fighting crime, not fighting unity and the Republican Party,&rdquo; Trump posted on Truth Social on Aug. 3. &ldquo;He should be seeking unity, not retribution, especially against the man that got him the nomination through endorsement and, without whom, he could never have beaten Stacey Abrams.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump followed his post up with a series of attacks on Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during a rally in Atlanta, prompting each of them to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3110055\/kemp-responds-to-trumps-attacks-my-focus-is-on-winning-this-november\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"fire back\">fire back<\/a> via social media.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats &ndash; not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,&rdquo; Kemp posted on X. &ldquo;You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats &ndash; not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past. <\/p>\n<p>You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/m8y6CSuZKY\">pic.twitter.com\/m8y6CSuZKY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrianKempGA\/status\/1819851284343832838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Whether or not Georgia Republicans can do that will go a long way toward determining whether Trump wins the state or whether a resurgent Democratic Party keeps it blue for a second straight cycle. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The focus needs to be on defining the Democratic nominee and defeating her. Those are the two &lsquo;Ds&rsquo; &mdash; define her and defeat her,&rdquo; longtime Georgia Republican operative Alec Poitevint said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;d be OK with me if we do it in a dominating fashion, so three &lsquo;Ds&rsquo; is all right with me. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m telling people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Poitevint was a Georgia delegate to the Republican National Convention and chairman of both of Sonny Perdue&rsquo;s Senate campaigns. He has been a leader in the party since the early 1990s when Georgia was still a bastion of southern Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>While he says he wouldn&rsquo;t have advised Trump to say what he did about Kemp, Poitevint says he&rsquo;s a big fan of both men and expects his party&rsquo;s voters to turn out big to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in November.<\/p>\n<p>Others aren&rsquo;t so sure. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump is operating in grievance mode,&rdquo; University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said. &ldquo;If he were operating in &lsquo;expand your support&rsquo; mode, he wouldn&rsquo;t be doing that. There is a component of the electorate who will vote for both Trump and Kemp, but many may be more enthusiastic for Kemp than Trump &hellip; I don&rsquo;t know that it drives those people into the Harris camp, but it hurts Trump if they decide to just skip the presidential ticket.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump helped Kemp become governor by endorsing him in 2018 but has been angry at him since December 2020, when Kemp didn&rsquo;t go along with the &ldquo;Stop the Steal&rdquo; narrative, a matter that has never been resolved.<\/p>\n<p>Kemp says he&rsquo;s supporting Trump, though he may be doing so reluctantly. He called Trump a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2447338\/republican-debate-brian-kemp-calls-donald-trump-debate-night-loser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"loser\">loser<\/a>&rdquo; following the first Republican primary debate and predicted Trump would lose his big lead in that race. When the GOP primary came to Georgia, Kemp said he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3061978\/kemp-didnt-vote-anybody-georgia-presidential-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"didn't vote\">didn&rsquo;t vote<\/a> in it, and his wife has said she will write in Kemp&rsquo;s name this fall rather than voting for Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Kemp visited the RNC in Milwaukee last month but was not a speaker at the event, and he and Raffensperger did not attend Trump&rsquo;s Atlanta rally. Kemp also controls his own campaign funding pool that he can use to help drive turnout for Trump &mdash;&nbsp;or use elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump&rsquo;s running mate, who has become an embattled figure over his past comments about childless Democrats, tried to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3110079\/vance-very-confident-2024-election-will-be-fairer-than-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"make nice\">make nice<\/a> Sunday by praising Georgia&rsquo;s new elections laws in a Fox News interview, but Trump himself has made no such overtures.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats were fretting over polls that consistently showed Trump defeating President Joe Biden in the state, now the race is believed to have tightened considerably. Trump is clinging to a 0.8% lead in the <em>RealClearPolitics <\/em>polling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/georgia\/trump-vs-harris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"average\">average<\/a>, with one poll even showing Harris ahead. <\/p>\n<p>Kemp remains an overwhelmingly popular figure in Georgia, with a 63% approval rate, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He defeated another election denier, Democrat Stacey Abrams, during the 2018 Georgia governor&rsquo;s race, then beat her again by a wider margin in 2022. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Atlanta-based conservative commentator&nbsp;Erick&nbsp;Erickson is warning that Trump could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is Donald Trump&rsquo;s race to lose, and there are times I wonder if he wants to,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/ewerickson.substack.com\/p\/snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"wrote\">wrote<\/a> in a Substack letter. &ldquo;This weekend was one of those times.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1722151\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1722151\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia Republicans are attempting to shift their focus toward the upcoming election rather than dwelling on internal conflicts. The ongoing feud between former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential candidate, and Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) dates back to late 2020 when Kemp dismissed Trump&#8217;s claims of a stolen election. Their discord resurfaced recently, with Trump criticizing Kemp on social media for not prioritizing party unity and instead engaging in personal disputes. In response, Kemp emphasized his commitment to winning the November elections and defeating Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats, urging Trump to refrain from personal attacks.<\/p>\n<p>The ability of Georgia Republicans to move past this conflict will significantly influence whether Trump can secure victory in the state or if Democrats will maintain their foothold for another cycle. Veteran Republican strategist Alec Poitevint stressed that the party should concentrate on defining and defeating the Democratic nominee. While he appreciates both Trump and Kemp, he believes that Trump&#8217;s recent comments were unwise.<\/p>\n<p>Political analysts express concern about Trump&#8217;s approach; some suggest it may alienate voters who support both him and Kemp but could be more enthusiastic about the governor. Despite their complicated relationship\u2014Kemp has publicly criticized Trump while still supporting him\u2014Kemp remains popular among Georgians.<\/p>\n<p>As polls indicate a tightening race between Trump and Biden in Georgia, with some showing Harris leading, commentators warn that Trump&#8217;s actions could jeopardize his chances of success in what is perceived as a winnable race for him<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2635,"featured_media":2319807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Donald-Trump-Atlanta.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4977,6203,4021,3634],"class_list":["post-2319806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-georgia","tag-gop","tag-harris","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Donald-Trump-Atlanta.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2635"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2319806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2319807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2319806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2319806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2319806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}