Georgia's 83rd governor, elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 (both times over Stacey Abrams). Previously secretary of state (2010–2018) and a state senator, with a background in agribusiness and construction. Barred from a third consecutive term, he leaves office in January 2027 — making the 2026 race an open seat. His final stretch is dotted with the CENTEGIX school-safety contracting questions below.
Office & background
- Governor of Georgia (2019–present)
- Georgia Secretary of State (2010–2018)
- Georgia State Senate (2003–2007)
Campaign finance — who funds them
Term-limited and not currently raising campaign funds; see the scandal below for the leadership-committee money that keeps this office in the news.
Where they stand
Signed SB 233 (2024), the Georgia Promise Scholarship, creating $6,500 vouchers for private school after years of pushing the idea; also delivered a series of $2,500 across-the-board teacher pay raises during his terms.
Source: GPB — Kemp signs private school voucher bill · Georgia Recorder — teacher pay raisesDeclined a full Medicaid expansion and instead launched Georgia Pathways to Coverage (2023) — a partial expansion that requires recipients to log 80 hours a month of work or other qualifying activity, the only such work-requirement Medicaid program in the country.
Source: KFF — Georgia Pathways to Coverage · GPB — Pathways enrollment lagsHas not pushed to raise the minimum wage; Georgia's own statutory minimum remains $5.15, so workers default to the $7.25 federal floor — among the lowest-wage policy postures in the nation.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor — state minimum wagesLeaned on mental-health policy rather than enforcement — signed the bipartisan Mental Health Parity Act (HB 1013, 2022), one of the broadest behavioral-health overhauls in state history, requiring insurers to cover mental health like physical health.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Kemp signs mental health parity billSigned the 2022 law exempting up to $17,500 of military retirement income from state income tax (more for veterans who keep working), pitched as a way to keep retired servicemembers in Georgia.
Source: Georgia Recorder — military retirement tax breakAfter the killing of Laken Riley, signed HB 1105 (2024), the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act, forcing local jails to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or risk losing state funding.
Source: AP — Kemp signs immigration enforcement law · Georgia Recorder — HB 1105 signedSigned SB 319 (2022), 'constitutional carry,' letting most Georgians carry a concealed handgun without a permit; has opposed new firearm restrictions.
Source: GPB — Kemp signs constitutional carrySigned the 2019 LIFE Act (HB 481), the six-week 'heartbeat' ban that took effect in 2022 after Roe fell, and has defended it through the courts.
Source: AP — Georgia heartbeat abortion law takes effectSigned SB 140 (2023) banning hormone therapy and surgery as gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and earlier signed a measure restricting transgender athletes in school sports.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Kemp signs trans care banAligned with the GOP rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs — backed the University System of Georgia's 2024 move to drop DEI-based hiring and admissions criteria across its 26 institutions.
Source: Georgia Recorder — University System ends DEI useSigned a 2024 law making Georgia the first state to sell low-THC medical cannabis oil through independent pharmacies, broadening access for registered patients — while continuing to oppose recreational legalization.
Source: AP — Georgia pharmacies to dispense medical marijuanaCourted data-center, EV and manufacturing investment (Rivian, the Hyundai Metaplant) with major incentive packages, and in 2024 vetoed HB 1192, which would have paused the lucrative sales-tax exemption on data-center equipment — keeping the break alive even as the facilities strain Georgia's power grid and water.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Kemp vetoes data center tax pause · AJC — data centers strain Georgia powerPPP loan
Forgiven $38,137 — Specialty Stone, LLC (Hoschton, GA), May 2020.
Specialty Stone, a commercial stone-supply yard in Hoschton co-owned by Gov. Kemp and listed on his state financial disclosures, took a $38,137 PPP loan, forgiven in January 2021.
Accountability
Scandals
Reported controversies, charges & ethics matters · past decade
“Pay-to-play” allegations over CENTEGIX school-safety contracts
Allegation, unproven. Raised by 35+ Democratic state lawmakers; Kemp's office denies wrongdoing and says Democrats are attacking school-security funding. Under pressure, Dooley said he would support an independent investigation.CENTEGIX — a school-safety alert-system company owned by Derek Dooley's brother Daniel — won tens of millions of dollars in Georgia business after Gov. Brian Kemp championed school-safety grants sized to cover its system; by August 2025 roughly 90% of Georgia public schools used the product. Kemp's leadership PAC, Georgians First, then took six-figure money tied to the Dooley orbit and spent heavily to boost Dooley's U.S. Senate campaign. More than 35 Democratic state lawmakers called it “pay-to-play” and demanded an independent probe; Kemp's office rejected the allegations. Dooley went on to lose the June 2026 GOP Senate runoff to Mike Collins.
Sources
Each item is drawn from published reporting or official records, with sources listed. Where a matter was dismissed, settled, withdrawn, or remains pending, that disposition is noted; allegations are identified as such, and inclusion does not imply a finding of guilt. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below.
