On Thursday, former President Donald Trump surprised many by reconciling with Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA).

In a notable shift from his previous criticism, Trump praised Kemp on social media for his leadership in Georgia. It marked a dramatic change from the years of attacks and disparagement Trump directed at Kemp for his refusal to help overturn the 2020 election results.

Earlier, Kemp had informed Fox News host Sean Hannity that he is supporting Trump and is dedicated to ensuring that Georgia’s 16 electoral votes go to the Republicans.

“We gotta win,” Kemp told Hannity. “We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down. We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House. We need to retake the Senate. We need to hold the House.”

Just a year ago, or even a few weeks ago, the idea of mutual respect between Kemp and Trump would have seemed improbable to many Republicans in Georgia. Trump supported a primary challenger against Kemp in 2022, but Kemp won with almost 74% of the vote, as noted by the Washington Examiner.

More recently, Kemp scolded the former president for resorting to “petty personal insults” about his wife in a Truth Social post on Aug. 3, in which Trump said, “I don’t want her Endorsement and I don’t want his.” Kemp warned Trump to stop “attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,” and “leave my family out of it.”

The effect of the improving relations between Trump and Kemp on Republican prospects in Georgia is still unclear. The governor may use his large political network to increase GOP voter turnout, but at the moment, Kemp’s organization is concentrating on only a few state legislative races.

At any rate, Republicans are supportive of the rapprochement between the two men.

“A unified party in Georgia has a much better chance of winning. Sounds obvious, but it wasn’t totally obvious to Trump until last night,” said Republican strategist John Feehery, who called the warm words “good enough.” He told the Examiner: “What changed is Trump is now sympatico with Kemp, which I think makes Kemp a more credible messenger to Trump supporters in Georgia.”

Alec Poitevint, a former Georgia Republican Party chairman who works with Kemp’s political group, stated that Trump had until the fall to repair the relationship. “There’s a historical basis about elections that say that once you get past Labor Day, you need to have things in order. And I think what’s going on here is, Republicans in Georgia, we’re getting our house in order,” said Poitevint.