Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia stands for an interview with Fox News Digital, his first after being elected Republican Governors Association chair, on Nov, 20, 2024 on Marco Island, Florida (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
Ossoff, who is running for a second, six-year term in the Senate after flipping the seat with a razor-thin victory in a January 2021 runoff election, is a top target of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in a state that President Donald Trump narrowly carried last November.
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"Republicans have a number of strong candidates who can build a winning coalition to add this seat to President Trump’s Senate Majority," NRSC communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News in a statement.
Kemp, in his social media post, said that he "spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, seen presiding over a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee in the Capitol on Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington, DC., is seriously considering a run for Senate or governor in 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But with Kemp out of the picture, the GOP faces the prospect of a crowded and potentially divisive primary that could include Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a top Trump supporter in the House who enjoys massive name recognition but is seen by pundits as too toxic to court crucial independent voters needed to win the general election.
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Among the other Republicans who have expressed interest in running if Kemp bowed out are Reps. Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, and Rich McCormick, and state Insurance Commissioner John King.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee highlighted Kemp's announcement.
"Brian Kemp’s decision to not run for Senate in 2026 is yet another embarrassing Republican Senate recruitment failure as they face a building midterm backlash where every GOP candidate will be forced to answer for Trump’s harmful agenda. Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda and recruitment failures put their majority at risk in 2026," DSCC communications director Maeve Coyle said in a statement.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/popular-gop-gov-brian-kemp-announces-whether-hell-run-senate-battleground-georgia