ATLANTA – With Republicans’ top potential candidate on the sidelines for Georgia’s next U.S. Senate election, the 2026 GOP primary promises to be a live one.
When Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Monday that he will pass on a bid for Senate, he kicked off fervent prognosticating about who in his party could unseat the Senate’s top fundraiser.
Democrat Jon Ossoff has piled up $32 million, nearly twice as much as the next Senate incumbent.
Several Republicans from Georgia’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are considered likely contenders. Representatives Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Rich McCormick could simply re-aim their House campaign funds at a bid for Senate, giving them a head start on fundraising.
Other high-profile Georgia elected officials, such as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King, may also have enough name recognition and connections to launch a campaign.
Veteran Georgia political activist Cole Muzio, an influential figure in conservative politics, said he thinks those are all probable contenders, but said the field is likely much larger. At this stage, there could be as many as two dozen state politicians and business leaders considering a run in what he called a “shadow primary.” They are probably trying to reach donors and influential leaders, including President Donald Trump and Kemp, to gauge support before announcing their candidacy next week or after, he said.
There were no big announcements Tuesday. Greene was posting on X about transgender athletes and drug cartels. Collins had a post about the anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster.
Meanwhile, Charlie Bailey, the newly elected chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, taunted the potential challengers, asserting that they would “squabble and grovel for Trump’s favor” before going up against a dug-in Ossoff.
“While they attack one other and cater to the MAGA extreme right, we will build the most effective and unstoppable turnout effort in state history,” he said.
Muzio, a close Kemp ally as founder and president of the Frontline Policy Council, said he is interested in watching whether Trump and Kemp back the same candidates. The two leaders famously fell out in Trump’s first term but have been cordial lately.
Kemp posted on X that he had spoken with Trump before announcing that he would not run against Ossoff, pledging to help the Republican that does.
Though many were shocked by Kemp’s decision, Muzio said he was not surprised. He described the governor as an “alpha” executive who is “wired to be a decision maker.” Kemp would not have relished being one of 100 members of a deliberate and “very” slow legislative body “that’s all about making speeches in empty rooms,” Muzio said. “It’s just not a job that’s going to appeal.”