FIRST ON FOX — Gov. Brian Kemp, the new chair of the Republican Governors Association, is aiming to build on the GOP momentum coming out of the 2024 elections as he looks ahead to the next gubernatorial showdowns.

“We’ve had great successes,” the popular GOP governor of Georgia told Fox News Digital as he pointed to President-elect Trump’s 2024 victory as well as Republican gubernatorial, congressional and down-ballot triumphs this month.

Republicans held onto their 27-23 gubernatorial advantage in the 2024 elections, thanks in part to the efforts of the RGA.

HELPING TRUMP GET OFF TO A FAST START A KEY MISSION FOR REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS

Looking ahead, New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections next year, giving them outsized national attention and making them key barometers for the mood of Americans during the start of a new presidential term.

A competitive GOP primary is underway in blue-state New Jersey, where Republicans hope to win a gubernatorial election for the first time in a dozen years.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS SAY WITH TRUMP ELECTION, ‘WE’VE GOT A FRIEND IN THE WHITE HOUSE’

And in Virginia, the GOP is rallying around Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears as she aims to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin [Virginia governors can only serve one consecutive four-year term] and make history as the state’s first woman governor and the nation’s first Black female governor.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (Kristen Zeis/For Washington Post via Getty Images)

“We’re ready to keep working as we move into what will be a tough cycle for us in Virginia, in New Jersey, and then having 36 races in 2026,” Kemp said last week in his first interview after being elected RGA chair at the group’s annual winter meeting, which was held this year at a waterfront resort in Marco Island, Florida.

Kemp emphasized that “my goal is for us to continue to raise enough money to be competitive. The Democrats are outspending us because they have big check writers, but we have a lot of really dedicated donors. We’ll try to continue to build the tent, make sure that we have good candidates and win because our policies are better.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR AFTER HE LEAVES OFFICE

Kemp said his own comfortable re-election in 2022 and Trump’s victory in battleground Georgia this month in the presidential election “gives us a lot of confidence, a lot of hope, but we also know that the ’26 midterm is going to be tough.” 

Kemp is term-limited and can’t seek another term in office in 2026. The contest to succeed him will be a top gubernatorial election in two years.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (Fox News)

“I’m going to be very engaged, you can rest assured, to making sure that my [successors] are Republican. I have a vested interest in doing that,” Kemp said. “We’ll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that’s happening not only in Georgia but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor’s races. So we’re going to be on offense.”

Georgia will also have a high-profile Senate showdown as Republicans aim to defeat Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026.

Asked if he’ll be courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff, Kemp responded, “Well, I may.”

But he quickly pivoted, stressing that “my focus right now, being just elected the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is on raising money for us to be competitive in 2025 and 2026. I’ve made the commitment to do that, and I’m going to fulfill that commitment. We’ll see what happens down the road with anything else.”

Asked if he’s not ruling out a possible 2026 Senate bid or even a 2028 White House run, the governor said, “I try to keep all doors open in politics.”

A Florida man is dead after he got caught in a boat propeller during a fishing trip with a friend off the Sunshine State’s west coast.

The tragic incident took place at around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday approximately two miles north of the Dunedin Causeway in the Intercoastal Waterway, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said.

Charles Barnes, 66, was out fishing with his friend, William Coughenour, near Three Rooker Island on Coughenour’s 17-foot Key West boat.

PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN CHARGED WITH HOMICIDE IN TEEN GIRL’S BOAT DEATH

Barnes was reportedly sitting at the front of the boat on top of a cooler while Coughenour was driving. 

When Coughenour took his hand off the steering wheel to fix a fishing pole, the boat “pulled a hard right” and sent both men flying into the water, the sheriff’s office said.

While Coughenour was able to swim back to the boat, Barnes ended up getting run over by the vessel. He was pulled underwater after his right arm got caught in the motor’s propellers.

Charles Barnes, 66, was pronounced dead once Pinellas County first responders arrived at the boat. (REUTERS)

FLORIDA BALLERINA, 15, KILLED IN HIT-AND-RUN BOAT CRASH IN WATER-SKIING ACCIDENT

Coughenour, who flagged down other boaters for help, tried to get Barnes out of the water, but was unable to.

When first responders arrived, Barnes was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Through the course of the investigation, deputies determined nothing suspicious was observed and impairment was not a factor in the incident,” the sheriff’s office said.

A former My Chemical Romance Drummer was found dead inside his Tennessee home, according to reports.

Bob Bryar, 44, who joined the popular rock band in 2004 and is the longest drummer on record for the band, was last seen alive on November 4.

Bryar replaced the original drummer, Matt Pelissier, while serving as a sound technician for The Used when the bands were touring together, but parted ways in 2010.

SAMMY HAGAR THANKFUL FOR HIS HEALTH AND CAREER THIS THANKSGIVING

Cause of death is not yet available, but animal control was called to the house to take away two dogs.  

TMZ reports that law enforcement say the body was badly decomposed but don’t suspect foul play at this time.

FORMER IRON MAIDEN SINGER PAUL DI’ANNO DEAD AT 66

Bob Bryar of My Chemical Romance. ((Photo by Chris McKay/WireImage))

The band had a ten-city tour beginning in July of next year but Bryar was not scheduled to appear.

The cause of death is still under investigation.