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Kemp talks about future, 'tough' election with Channel 2 during exclusive interview

ATLANTA — Just days after the state of Georgia certified the election, Gov.-elect Brian Kemp sat down with Channel 2's Aaron Diamant.

Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams, who said Friday that she knows her 2018 gubernatorial opponent will be declared governor of Georgia, but refused to officially concede the election.

Kemp's victory makes him the third consecutive Republican to win the governor’s mansion — and the first lifelong member of the GOP elected to the office. His predecessors, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, were both former Democrats who switched parties more than a decade ago.

Kemp's win, however, comes under a cloud of scrutiny. He faced heavy criticism during the race over his decision not to resign as secretary of state — a role that includes oversight of the state’s elections — and was hobbled by several lawsuits claiming his policies amounted to voter suppression. He has since resigned as secretary of state.

Kemp introduced his full transition team Monday afternoon, including former Georgia Congressman and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. He said the committee will be focused on the issues that got him elected and asked all Georgia residents to stand with him after a divisive election.

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“I’m going to do exactly what I told people I’m going to do,” Kemp told Diamant in his first one-on-one interview after an intense and emotional campaign on both sides.

"How do we heal this state right now after this battle we just fought?" Diamant asked.

"Look, in all these campaigns you have rhetoric and you have passion and conviction, I mean, that’s what they’re about. But Georgians have made their decision and it’s my job to keep our state moving forward." Kemp said.

Kemp said he has no plans to retreat from the core Republican principles he ran on.

“I’ve been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I’m going to continue to do that; I’ve been a strong supporter of life. I’m going to continue to do that. I’ve been a conservative when it comes to budgeting issues," Kemp said.

When asked about his priorities on Day 1, Kemp said, “To start working on those things that we promised: You know, teacher pay raises, cutting taxes again, streamlining government, making us more efficient, increasing the rural hospital tax credit, that is certainly a priority of mine, so we’ll start working on those things immediately.”

When Diamant asked Kemp about Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams' promise to file a federal lawsuit over what she called gross mismanagement of the election, Kemp said, "I'm not too worried about what they're doing. I mean, look, they've been filing all kinds of lawsuits, a lot of good resources wasted on some of these ridiculous lawsuits. What she does in the future is her business. I've got to be the governor of this state and that's going to be my business and that's what I'm focused on."

Kemp said he's open to legislation that would do more than just replace Georgia's aging voting machines including other potential election reforms, but wouldn't get into specifics.

Greg Bluestein with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.