Kemp Expected to Select Atlanta Business Woman to Fill Isakson Seat

Governor Brian P. Kemp is expected to announce this morning his choice to fill Senator Johnny Isakson’s Senate seat and it is not the candidate preferred by President Donald Trump.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Kemp is expected to announce wealthy businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, a political newcomer, to fill Isakson’s unexpired term.

Isakson announced in August he will leave office at the end of this month due to health issues.

Kemp’s choice goes against fellow Republicans who had pushed him to choose U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of the Ninth District, which includes Franklin, Hart, and Stephens counties.

A ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Collins is one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress and has indicated he is considering a run for Isakson’s seat in the November 2020 Election.

Trump made clear to Kemp in talks that he preferred Collins to Loeffler, but sources told the Associated Press the President has resigned himself to Kemp’s pick.

Loeffler is the co-owner of the Atlanta Dream professional woman’s basketball franchise.

She is also the CEO of financial services firm Bakkt, which offers a regulated market for Bitcoin.

She was previously an executive at Intercontinental Exchange, a behemoth founded by her husband that owns the New York Stock Exchange.

Bakkt is a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange.

Sources told the AP that Kemp’s choice in Loeffler is an effort to diversify the party and also to reclaim some ground in metro Atlanta with college-educated white women.