Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivered his final State of the State address Thursday in Atlanta, proposing to spend $1.17 billion from the state’s budget surplus on income tax rebates and calling to accelerate a planned reduction in the state’s flat income tax rate to 4.99%. Kemp, who refused President Donald Trump’s demands to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results and survived Trump’s subsequent political retaliation, is working to extend his influence in Georgia politics well past his departure from office.
Kemp’s departure comes as Georgia remains a closely contested battleground: he is backing candidates aligned with his small-government approach while Democrats are attempting to win the governorship for the first time since 1998 and secure a second Senate term for Sen. Jon Ossoff.
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivered his final State of the State address Thursday, proposing to spend $1.17 billion from the state’s budget surplus on income tax rebates and calling to accelerate a planned reduction in the state’s flat income tax rate to 4.99%.
Kemp also proposed $2,000 one-time bonuses for teachers and university and state employees, along with a $325 million endowment for what he described as Georgia’s first comprehensive need-based college aid program. The proposed rebates — $500 per family or $250 per person — would mark the fourth time he has issued such rebates as governor.
The address marked the symbolic close of his two terms, but Kemp is working to extend his influence in Georgia politics after leaving office. His biggest near-term investment is in Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the May primary. He is also backing candidates for legislative and statewide offices he says reflect his small-government approach.
“Brian Kemp has been a force in Georgia politics the likes of which we may not see again for some time,” said Stephen Lawson, a Republican strategist.
A record of conflict and survival
Kemp’s tenure included sustained conflict with President Donald Trump, who pressed Kemp to help overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. Kemp rejected Trump’s demands to call a special legislative session to reverse the outcome and withstood weeks of pressure.
Trump responded by backing former U.S. Sen. David Perdue against Kemp in the 2022 Republican primary. Kemp won decisively and went on to a lopsided general election victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams. In August 2024, Trump publicly criticized Kemp and his wife at an Atlanta rally for approximately ten minutes — a moment that prompted national Republicans to broker a truce, persuading Trump he needed Kemp’s help to carry Georgia.
“After 2020 he stood on principle and did what he thought was right — and he was rewarded for that in a major way in 2022,” Lawson said.
Trump won Georgia in November 2024.
The fiscal case
In his address, Kemp framed Thursday’s proposals as a continuation of the governing philosophy that had defined his tenure.
“We must continue doing everything in our power to allow the hardworking men and women of our state to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket in the years to come,” Kemp said.
The proposed $2,000 teacher bonus carried echoes of his first-term signature commitment — $5,000 raises for every Georgia teacher — which he delivered. He also called for increased retirement payments for law enforcement.
“Refusing to grow government, budgeting conservatively and paying off debt aren’t flashy,” Kemp said.
Shaping what comes next
Kemp’s post-gubernatorial plans remain uncertain. He has been discussed as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate or the presidency, and his chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association raised his national profile with donors. He has not publicly committed to any specific future office.
He is also working to shape the demographic composition of the Georgia Republican Party. He appointed John King as insurance commissioner and Barbara Rivera Holmes as labor commissioner — described, according to the Associated Press, as Georgia’s first two Hispanic officials in statewide elected offices.
Kemp has stayed out of the race for governor thus far. One of the leading Republicans seeking to succeed him — Attorney General Chris Carr — calls himself a “Brian Kemp Republican.”
Democrats, seeking the governorship for the first time since 1998 and a second Senate term for Ossoff, offered a skeptical account of Kemp’s record. Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said Kemp had not broken in meaningful ways from the Republican governance that preceded him.
“I think that Brian Kemp as governor has not been honestly all that different than 22 years of Republican rule that has made the American dream less attainable for most Georgians,” Bailey said.
Democrats also pointed to Kemp’s refusal to expand Medicaid to all adults and his backing of abortion restrictions as issues they plan to press in the coming campaign.