Brian Kemp Net Worth, Family, Wife, Education, Children, Age, Biography, Political Career

Brian Kemp Biography

Brian Porter Kemp is an American businessman and politician who has served as Georgia's 83rd governor since January 2019. He previously served as Georgia's 27th Secretary of State from 2010 to 2018 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007. 

Kemp was born in Athens, Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia. Kemp previously owned several agribusinesses, financial services, and real estate firms before entering politics. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2002. Kemp was appointed Secretary of State of Georgia by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2010, following Karen Handel's resignation to run for governor. Kemp was elected to a full term as Georgia Secretary of State in 2010, and was re-elected in 2014.

In 2015, Kemp's office distributed the Social Security numbers and birth dates of registered Georgia voters incorrectly. During the 2016 election, Kemp was the only state official to refuse assistance from the Department of Homeland Security in preventing Russian meddling. Kemp also faced criticism from voting rights advocates; from 2012 to 2018, Kemp's office cancelled more than 1.4 million voter registrations, and during the 2018 election, Kemp held up more than 53,000 voter registration applications, with African Americans accounting for nearly 70% of the voter registrations. Kemp ran for governor in 2018, where he faced Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams. Kemp refused to resign as secretary of state while running for governor, sparking controversy and accusations of power abuse. Kemp was declared the winner of the general election on November 6 with 50.2% of the vote. Abrams suspended her campaign on November 16, claiming that he engaged in voter suppression. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kemp, as governor, prohibited cities and counties from implementing face mask mandates, despite public health guidance that supported such mandates. 

Following the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Kemp was chastised by President Donald Trump for following state law, which required him to certify the results despite Trump's repeated false claims of election fraud. He signed the Election Integrity Act of 2021 into law in 2021, which limited voting rights by allowing the state government to replace local elections boards, limiting absentee voting, reducing the number of drop boxes for ballots, and prohibiting anyone other than election workers from providing food or water to people waiting in lines outside polling places. Former Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones is challenging him in the Republican primary for the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election.

Brian Kemp Net Worth

Brian Kemp Net Worth is $ 5.5 Million in 2022.

Brian Kemp Family, Parents

Kemp was born in Athens, Georgia, the son of William L. Kemp II, into a prominent political family. Kemp's grandfather, Julian H. Cox, was a member of the Georgia Legislature, and his eighteenth-century ancestor James Habersham successfully lobbied for the establishment of slavery in Georgia, eventually becoming governor and amassing a fortune from the family's slave-worked rice plantations of Silk Hope, Forest Dean, and Beverley. 

Kemp attended Athens Academy until ninth grade, when he transferred to Clarke Central High School to play football for Billy Henderson. He graduated in 1983. He later earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Georgia.

Brian Kemp Wife, Children

Kemp married Marty Argo, daughter of longtime Georgia House of Representatives member Bob Argo, on January 8, 1994. they have three daughters.

Brian Kemp Career and Achievement

Kemp was a home builder and developer before entering politics.

He served as a Georgia State Senator from 2003 to 2007 after defeating the Democratic incumbent Doug Haines. In 2006, Kemp ran for Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia. He ran second in the primary, but lost a runoff to Gary Black. Kemp initially declared intent to run for State Senate District 47 when incumbent Ralph Hudgens planned to run for Congress in Georgias 10th congressional district. Hudgens instead ran for reelection, changing Kemps plans.

Georgia Secretary of State

In early 2010, Kemp was appointed to Georgia Secretary of State by then-Governor Sonny Perdue. Kemp won the 2010 election for a full term as Georgia Secretary of State with 56.4% of the vote, to 39.4% for his Democratic opponent, Georganna Sinkfield. Four years later, Kemp was reelected.

Kemp rejects the conclusion by the United States Intelligence Community that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Amid Russian interference in the 2016 election, Kemp denounced efforts by the Obama administration to strengthen the security of election systems, including improving access to federal cybersecurity assistance. He denounced the Obama administrations efforts, saying they were an assault on states rights.

After narrowly winning in the 2018 gubernatorial election, he resigned his office of Secretary of State in anticipation of becoming Governor.

Governor of Georgia

Kemp was inaugurated as governor in a public ceremony in Atlanta on January 14, 2019.