For months, Gov. Brian Kemp has deflected questions about a potential Senate bid by saying his top priority is passing a legal overhaul and navigating the Georgia legislative session.
With the revamp now awaiting his signature and lawmakers back home for the year, the pressure from Republicans for him to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff is only intensifying. But Kemp isn’t yet ready to make his decision public.
“I don’t really have a time frame on that,” Kemp said recently. “But now that we are out of the legislative session, I’m going to give some thought to that.”
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Kemp’s indecision hasn’t stopped supporters and Republican leaders from urging him to take on Ossoff, the only incumbent Senate Democrat running for reelection next year in a state that President Donald Trump won.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, the head of the Senate’s GOP campaign arm, called Kemp his “No. 1 recruit.” State Republicans are pleading with him to jump in, and national GOP groups are egging him on with strategic polls showing him as the biggest threat to the first-term Democrat.
The latest sign of the ongoing pressure campaign: Axios reported this week that U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune lobbied the governor to run while in Atlanta on Monday for a fundraiser. It was one of several conversations the top Senate Republican has had with Kemp in recent months about a potential bid.
Privately, many of Kemp’s closest friends doubt he’ll run, but some say the odds have ticked up. Even key allies say the timing of a decision is unclear, though several major events are looming on his calendar.
His oldest daughter, Jarrett, is getting married at the end of the month, and he’s set to host a gathering of his political network in coastal Georgia in early May alongside many of the state’s top power brokers.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
And the Kemp-Trump feud that threatened to derail the governor’s ambitions is now fading into the past. After forging a campaign truce last year, their alliance has held as Kemp crisscrosses the nation promoting GOP candidates as head of the Republican Governors Association.
“He’s getting a lot of pressure,” said Martha Zoller, a conservative commentator and longtime Kemp ally. “I still think he’s not going to run, but there’s no downside to waiting. He’ll be the front-runner if he does get in. But it’ll be fruit basket turnover if he announces he’s not going to run.”
One possible reason he’s waiting so long? “I think he likes seeing Ossoff squirm,” she said, with a laugh.
A restless GOP bench
If Kemp opts out, the list of potential Republicans who could run includes some of the state’s most prominent officials: U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rich McCormick; Insurance Commissioner John King and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Each has publicly encouraged Kemp to run. But they’re also quietly positioning themselves for a campaign if he doesn’t. Some have hired staff, lined up donors and courted activists. A few have also visited the National Republican Senatorial Committee to start laying the groundwork.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Collins has been among the most aggressive. His allies are working to win Trump’s endorsement, and he’s scheduled a May 3 “Surf & Turf” rally in Covington, which some insiders suspect could serve as a campaign launch event if Kemp bows out of the race by then.
Others are working to shore up their MAGA credentials. King has emerged as a vocal defender of Trump’s tariffs, while Carter turned heads by introducing a measure to let the president negotiate U.S. control of Greenland — and rename it “Red, White and Blueland.”
But there could be a limit to the party’s patience. Kemp doesn’t want to draw comparisons to Stacey Abrams, who publicly wavered over a U.S. Senate run in 2019 before bowing out on April 30 of that year. She instead waged a second bid for governor against Kemp.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Republicans are also mindful of what happened in 2022, when an untested Herschel Walker steamrolled through the GOP primary — only to collapse in the general election under a barrage of scandals and self-inflicted errors.
Kennesaw State University political scientist Jason Shepherd, a former Cobb GOP chair, said each day Kemp waits is one less day for candidates to raise cash, organize their campaign and appeal to voters.
“The governor knows he has the advantage of a statewide political network ready to pivot to send him to Washington should he want to go, but others eager to get a political promotion are feeling the pressure of time running out,” he said.
Regardless of Kemp’s decision, Ossoff won’t be an easy target. The Democrat has worked to burnish his bipartisan appeal while casting himself as a bulwark against Trump. And money won’t be a problem: A proven fundraising machine, the Democrat reported this week that he has $11 million in the bank.
“I will be ready for anyone who challenges me for this seat,” Ossoff said.
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