Georgia's outgoing Republican governor, Brian Kemp, is refusing to give the GOP what it wants: its own hand-crafted maps that would help entrench the GOP further in the state.
Georgia was once a reliably Republican state, with the GOP enjoying a clear advantage in statewide races. That has changed. It is now an unpredictable swing state known for nail-biting elections. The Peach State has a conservative Republican two-term governor, but it also has two Democratic U.S. senators. Trump's 2024 Georgia win came after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020. Even in Georgia, he won by only 2 percent.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that Kemp will not call a new legislative session to hand lawmakers the ability to gerrymander the congressional districts. The decision came just a few hours after victory was called for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. Her victory ended 24 years of GOP rule in the seat.
“The voters of our state have spoken. As long as I’m governor, we will always respect the results of secure, accessible and fair elections, and also abide by the laws and constitution of our state,” Kemp said in a statement to the AJC.
“I will not be calling a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in order to curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes.”
The comments are reminiscent of Kemp's words in 2020, when he refused to call a special session to help President Donald Trump overturn the Georgia election results.
Still, Kemp left open the option to call officials back to Atlanta for “budgetary issues that may need to be addressed before the convening of the regular session in January.”
The report said Democrats were fearful and bracing for another political battle after the election. Their only option would ultimately be to fight to reduce the governor's powers, which would mean pulling power away from the nation's first Black female governor before she was sworn in.
Bottoms cautioned against it, telling the GOP that trying to redraw the lines Texas and Florida, but after the election, would forever brand them as the "party of losers."
“We are a state that has gotten things done in moderation,” she said when speaking to the “Politically Georgia” podcast in early 2026. “And it would be really unfortunate for them to do that on their way out of the door.”
Bottoms will officially be sworn in on Monday, Jan. 11, 2027.
