Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is planning to attend a fundraiser for former President Donald Trump in Georgia, two sources confirmed to The Hill, as the two men seek to ease a long-standing feud that will bring in campaign cash for the Republican presidential candidate.
Kemp, who will appear alongside Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, is scheduled to be the headline guest at an event in Atlanta on Thursday along with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a person close to Pompeo and familiar with Trump's campaign plans told The Hill.
The welcome came after the former president praised Gov. Brian Kemp during an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show last week, in which Kemp said the focus should be on President Trump's reelection.
“We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House,” Kemp said. “We need to take back the Senate. We need to keep the House.”
Following the TV hit, the former president expressed his gratitude to Kemp.
“I appreciate your help and support in Georgia. Winning in Georgia is critical to the success of our party and most importantly, our country,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of our friends in Georgia to Make America Great Again!”
The former president's relationship with Kemp has been strained since the 2020 election, in which Trump narrowly lost to Biden in Georgia.
In the weeks after his defeat, he continued to pressure Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (Republican) to contest the election results, but relations between the two have remained strained since then.
In 2022, Trump endorsed Kemp's primary opponent, but Kemp won reelection by a larger margin than he had in 2018. Kemp told CNN in late June that he did not vote for Trump in Georgia's presidential primary in late May.
Earlier this month, the former president attacked Kemp at a rally in Atlanta, a move that prompted some Republicans to question why Trump wasn't putting more focus on Vice President Harris, who was emerging as the Democratic front-runner at the time.
Georgia will be a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.
A Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls in the state shows Trump leading Harris by about 3 percentage points.
Thursday's fundraiser will be hosted by Ulrich Brechbuhl, a former State Department adviser in the Trump administration, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and former ambassadors Ed McMullen and Duke Buchan. According to ABC News:was the first to report on the reception.
The Hill has reached out to Kemp's political campaign spokesman for comment.
