Kemp could have run and possibly won. He could have then become a Thomas Massie for the last 2 years of Trump’s term and then be free to be a Mitch or a Cruz. Perhaps he’s afraid of incumbency advantages. If it were ‘28 I’d say he’s afraid of blacks. My only other suggestion is he thinks of himself as a POTUS and every other office is beneath him. If he were to go in that direction he’d be as don’t-get-it as Massie and Cornyn. Tillis read the tea leaves.
Half of the GOP Congressional delegation thinks they are POTUS.