Southeast
New Republican Governors chair, pointing to campaign battles ahead, touts 'our policies are better'
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
Republican presidential nominee former President Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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.”
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Southeast
Florida fishing captain pulls off surprise boat trip for teen after single mom's Facebook plea
A Florida mother wanted to give her son a special 13th birthday to remember, so she reached out to her fellow community members for help.
Marie posted on the Tampa Bay Fishing Club Facebook group looking to see if anyone could take her son, Stash, out fishing on a boat for his first time since she is a single parent and quotes for charters were out of her price range.
“To be honest I really wasn’t expecting much from the post, but was blown away by the amount of amazing people who offered and commented,” Marie told Fox News Digital via email.
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Through the post, she connected with Captain Todd Young of Reel Memories Fishing Charter who has been running charters for six years in the waters of Tampa Bay.
Marie posted on the Tampa Bay Fishing Club group on Facebook looking to see if anyone could take her son, Stash, out fishing on a boat for his birthday. (Hannah May Marie)
Young told Fox News Digital via email that he responded to the post and was happy to help.
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“Originally [Marie] was looking for a charter for just her son and that can get really expensive. A bunch of people reached out that they would help donate the full price of the trip to get him out since he was a great kid,” said Young.
Captain Todd Young helped a single mother, Hannah May Marie, arrange a fishing excursion for her son’s 13th birthday at no cost. (Hannah May Marie)
He added, “It was so nice to see everyone willing to help to get him out for a fun day of fishing. I thought about it for a few days and reached back out to the mom telling her I would take him at no cost to her.”
Young, Marie and Stash all ventured out on a fishing boat on Stash’s birthday.
“It was the best birthday I have ever had being able to fish off a boat and catch so many fish, and I really want to do it again,” Stash told Fox News Digital via email.
Stash reeled in a 30-inch slot snook that he and his mother were able to bring home and cook.
Stash and Young reeled in a 30-inch slot snook in Tampa Bay waters. (Hannah May Marie)
“If he could, he would be fishing every day, all day, and has taught himself pretty much everything he knows by watching YouTube videos and tutorials,” said Marie.
On the charter, Young helped teach Stash a few new fishing techniques.
“In a world that has turned into nothing but all about electronics, I have been so relieved that my son has found a passion outside and away from video games,” Marie added.
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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.
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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a fatal water rescue call on Wednesday after a man was run over by a boat and caught in its propeller. (Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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.
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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
Bob Bryar of American emo rock band My Chemical Romance, United Kingdom, 2006. ((Photo by Richard Ecclestone/Redferns))
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.
Read the full article from Here
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