Kemp won the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate for the Māori Party by 42 votes in the official results of the 2023 New Zealand general election.

[3][4] In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kemp was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to street dance and youth.

The marae was used as a polling station, and according to video shown to Stuff, a Te Pāti Māori campaign song was played on loudspeakers during voting,[10] and food was available for voters.

In response, Te Pāti Māori leader John Tamihere denied the allegations and claimed that they were driven by disgruntled complainants.

Tamihere did not permit Kemp to be interviewed but acknowledged that marae workers had given gifts to encourage people to participate in the 2023 Census and to switch to the Māori roll.

[16] On 22 January 2025, a Statistics New Zealand investigation cleared the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency of data breaches during the 2023 Census and referred allegations against Manurewa Marae to the Privacy Commissioner.