Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to forgo a U.S. Senate run against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff has reshaped one of the most competitive contests of the 2026 cycle and triggered a chain reaction that could define Georgia’s political landscape for the next decade.
The move sets the stage for what’s likely to be a prolonged and messy Republican fight for the nomination, one that U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter of St. Simons has already joined. Many others could follow, as soon as the coming week.
No matter who emerges from a Republican primary, Ossoff said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’ll keep emphasizing bipartisan work and confronting someone who isn’t on the ballot: President Donald Trump.
“While GOP candidates bicker and audition for Trump’s endorsement, they will be made to answer for his failures and abuses,” Ossoff said.
But the terrain is fundamentally different from what it would be had Kemp entered the race as a unifying figure who would have cleared the field, lining up support from all corners of the conservative ecosystem.
Now, there’s a growing possibility of a new clash between Kemp and Trump, whose long-running feud is only just beginning to fade into memory.
Every potential candidate is courting the president, who remains a dominant force in Georgia GOP politics and has a proven knack for prizing loyalty over electability.
But the governor wants to influence the race as well, and his allies hope to rally behind a contender with the same appeal to swing voters that helped Kemp twice win Georgia’s top job.
There are tentative plans for a Kemp-Trump meeting in Washington in hopes of finding a consensus candidate, though even Kemp sounded skeptical of that possibility.
“That’s hard to do sometimes in primaries,” the governor told the AJC. “But it’s really too early to tell how that’s going to shake out.”
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Kemp’s Senate snub also strengthened Ossoff’s hand. Instead of facing a popular two-term governor with crossover appeal, the Democrat can focus on building support as Republicans tear into one another in a brutal primary.
“I remain prepared to outwork and defeat any challenger,” Ossoff told the AJC. “I’m not spending a lot of time thinking about who may emerge from the Republican field. I’m focused on continuing to deliver for the state of Georgia and my legislative business in the Senate.”
And Kemp’s decision underscores how turbulent the national election cycle has become for Republicans. Kemp is just the latest high-profile GOP figure to reject an intense lobbying campaign, dampening the party’s early optimism following Trump’s victory.
Trump loyalty
Other candidates aren’t waiting for a joint Kemp-Trump blessing. Carter was the first well-known Republican to enter the race, launching a campaign Thursday with a TV spot highlighting his loyalty to Trump.
It dubbed him a “MAGA warrior” and knocked Ossoff for blocking a measure to limit transgender girls in women’s sports — something the Democrat has called a GOP-engineered “culture war wedge issue.”
“Georgians voted overwhelmingly for this president, and they deserve someone in the Senate who is going to support this president and his America First policies,” said Carter. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Carter won’t be the last candidate in the race. Nearly a dozen other Republicans have taken steps toward running, including several state officials and many of the GOP members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
The best known — and most divisive — was U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene until she announced plans Friday to sit out the race.
Though the Rome Republican commands a fiercely loyal MAGA following, many party leaders fear her scorched-earth style could cost the party a winnable race and weigh down other GOP contenders.
“Jon Ossoff, you can stop with the fundraising emails and campaign ads claiming I’m your opponent,” Greene posted on social media Friday. “I’m not running.”
There had been intense discussions in Atlanta and Washington over ways to dissuade her from running or coalesce around an alternative.
Before Friday, Greene made clear she sees a path to victory, comparing the skepticism she faced to the doubts Trump overcame in 2016 and 2024.
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
“I have options,” she said. “There’s a lot of people saying I can run for Senate, I can run for governor and I can also keep representing Georgia’s beautiful 14th District.”
She added: “Unlike probably everyone else up here, I’m not interested in a job title. I make my decisions based on where I can be most effective.”
Bipartisan work
Long viewed as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat in 2026, Ossoff has moved to ready his political operation for the campaign ahead.
He helped oust U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams as chair of the state Democratic Party and urged activists to replace her with Charlie Bailey, an ally who has pledged to transform the organization into a more aggressive, better-funded political machine.
Ossoff has spotlighted bipartisan work on prison oversight, infrastructure improvements and green energy incentives. He talks of helping to secure major economic development deals and using his office to “expose corruption and human rights abuses.”
He’s also sharpened attacks on the president and his allies, accusing Republicans of empowering Trump to gut the public health system and impose reckless tariffs. He said he would support another impeachment targeting Trump’s abuse of power if his party retakes the U.S. House.
Though Republicans predict his criticism of Trump will backfire in a state the president just won, Ossoff’s allies believe the tight Republican alliance with Trump will haunt the GOP nominee in November.
Indeed, every prominent GOP candidate considering joining the race has courted Trump. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins said this week he’s already consulted with the president. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick said he’d “highly consider it” if Trump urged him to run. Insurance Commissioner John King has heaped praise on Trump’s policy agenda.
While that strategy could be essential to winning a primary, it could be risky in a general election. An AJC poll this month showed Trump’s approval rating had dipped to 43%, with most voters also opposing his administration’s immigration and economic policies.
That’s why the battle for Kemp’s endorsement could also prove crucial. The governor said it’s too early to take sides, but he made clear Thursday what he told a group of donors privately after he made his decision to sidestep a run.
“Just because my name is not going to be on the ballot, that doesn’t mean that I won’t be on the political playing field,” he said, adding that his priority is helping Republicans win back “one of our Senate seats that we really never should have lost.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Kemp’s decision also serves as a warning to national Republicans that holding the Senate majority in 2026 may be more chaotic than expected. Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu also rejected pressure to run for Senate, while longtime U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is expected to face a high-stakes primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton, who positions himself as a Trump-like disruptor.
Those internal divisions could play directly into Democratic messaging casting Republicans as more focused on appeasing Trump than solving voters’ problems.
“This clown show we are about to witness,” said Democratic state Rep. David Wilkerson, “is a result of the extreme partisan gerrymandering that has caused the election of extreme politicians who only care about sound bites and not actually helping families.”
Washington bureau chief Tia Mitchell contributed to this report.
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