Kemp Rules Out Georgia Senate Run, Dealing Republicans a Recruiting Setback

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2026, denying Republicans the candidate many of them viewed as their best hope of unseating Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Georgia is the only state President Donald Trump won in 2024 where a Democratic senator is up for reelection, which makes it the party's leading pickup target.

In a post on X, the term-limited governor said running next year was "not the right decision" for him and his family. He added that he had spoken with Trump and Senate leadership and promised to work with them on a strong Republican nominee who can win next November. He made the announcement as supporters gathered for his annual Sea Island donor retreat, and he signaled he may help shape the field.

Party leaders had courted him. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, met Kemp in Atlanta last month. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, himself a former governor, spoke with him several times, including over dinner at his Washington home.

Georgia Republican strategist Brian Robinson called Kemp's record "absolutely without parallel," noting few Republicans have taken on Trump, won, and remained popular with the party. After the 2020 election, Kemp rejected Trump's request for help overturning the result. Trump backed a primary challenger, whom Kemp easily beat before defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams a second time. The two men reconciled before the 2024 presidential campaign ended.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll last week showed Kemp neck and neck with Ossoff, while the first-term Democrat led the other Republicans tested by a wide margin. Robinson said Ossoff's team understands that "the best player on the field has side-lined himself." Ossoff recently opened his reelection effort with a sharp message aimed at the president, telling an Atlanta crowd that "Georgia will bow to no king."

Democrats hope Trump's second-term actions will help them in the midterms, which have historically favored the party out of the White House, though they face a difficult Senate map with few Republican-held seats to flip. Kemp is also not the only governor to pass on the chamber. Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined to seek an open seat, and New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, another top GOP recruit, stayed out of his state's race. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, meanwhile, is running for governor.

Steve Wrigley, who was chief of staff to the late Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, said governors often struggle to move from running a state to being one of 100 senators. Miller, he recalled, did not want to spend 20 years hoping to become a subcommittee chairman, and he did not seek reelection. GOP veteran Jay Morgan argued the dynamic is stronger now, saying Congress has ceded much power to Trump and has "never been more irrelevant."

Georgia's Republican field had been on hold awaiting Kemp's decision. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have not ruled out runs, and several other statewide officials and members of Congress have hinted at campaigns. Greene told NewsNation on Monday that polling shows she could win a Senate or governor primary or stay in her House seat, and that she would think it over. Her possible candidacy has reminded some strategists of Herschel Walker, the former University of Georgia football player who lost a 2022 runoff to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The NRSC is deciding state by state whether to take part in primaries. It moved quickly to endorse a candidate in Michigan, the other race seen as a true toss-up. Trump carried the state in 2024, and Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring.