Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Booed At State Republican Convention

On Saturday, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Georgia) was booed by the crowd at Georgia’s state Republican convention on his arrival onto the stage. The crowd’s shouts did not subside until well into Kemp’s address.

Kemp and former President Donald Trump‘s relationship has been rocky ever since the governor – along with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R-Georgia) – refused to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia last November. Trump announced he will not be endorsing Kemp in future elections and continuously disparages the governor. When Trump still had access to Twitter, the former president tweeted, “Don’t believe it, must be more!” when referring to Kemp losing by nearly 20 points to his opponent in a poll at the time.

Many other Republican leaders who have opposed Trump have faced strong hostility from his loyalist – including Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Georgia), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming). Raffensperger was condemned at the same Georgia convention, and Romney narrowly evaded official censure at a Republican organizing convention in Utah earlier this year.

The actions taken against Republican leaders by their own followers emphasize the power Trump continues to hold over the GOP regardless of losing the presidency.

Kemp was able to turn the initial greeting around and received cheers from the audience after boasting about Georgia’s rapid progress in overcoming the pandemic.