WASHINGTON — As pressure builds on Gov. Brian Kemp to run for U.S. Senate next year, other Georgia Republicans are scrambling to prepare their campaigns if he opts out.
They sense an opening as some of Kemp’s allies privately cast doubt on whether he’ll challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. And though none are trying to rush Kemp, they want to be ready for a messy primary if the governor steers clear.
“I support the Draft Kemp movement. Our governor can win that seat,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a potential GOP contender. “But if he takes a pass, I’ll talk with President Trump and see who he needs us to support to make sure he has another vote in the Senate.”
Republicans are chastened by what happened in 2022, when former football star Herschel Walker became an unstoppable force in the GOP primary — only for his scandal-plagued campaign to collapse against Democrat Raphael Warnock.
As Kemp deliberates — aides note he hasn’t closed the door on a run, privately or publicly — other possible candidates are already quietly assembling advisers, courting activists, wooing donors and taking steps to lay the groundwork for a bid.
Take U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a coastal Georgia pharmacist and five-term lawmaker better known for his focus on policy than political bomb-throwing.
This week, he grabbed headlines by introducing a measure that would empower Trump to negotiate U.S. control of Greenland and rename it “Red, White and Blueland.”
Carter’s proposal drew chuckles and eyerolls from the Beltway to the Beltline, but it wasn’t satire. It was a strategic way for Carter to bolster his MAGA credentials in a primary that could hinge on loyalty to Trump.
Collins is keen to remind voters he introduced the first law Trump signed since returning to the White House. Known for his provocative social media presence, the Jackson lawmaker has made himself a fixture at Georgia events.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
And U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Rome lawmaker, turned heads at last week’s “Politically Georgia” live event by openly acknowledging she’s weighing a run.
“Of course I’m considering all possibilities,” she said. “No decisions have been made, but I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering it.”
Other potential contenders aren’t sitting still, either. Insurance Commissioner John King rarely misses a chance to stand at Kemp’s side. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick is a mainstay on cable news, vouching for Trump’s agenda.
Former Kemp adviser Ryan Mahoney, now a strategist for McCormick, called the governor an “absolute powerhouse” who could steamroll the competition if he runs. But if he doesn’t, Mahoney added, the party needs to unify quickly to beat Ossoff.
“Without Kemp in the race, the GOP doesn’t just need a candidate,” Mahoney said. “It needs a warrior ready to crush the opposition and put hardworking Georgians first.”
The ‘number one recruit’
The push to recruit Kemp is intensifying, as national and state leaders view him as the party’s best bet to defeat Ossoff.
He consistently ranks in polls as the state’s most popular Republican, commands one of the state’s most formidable political networks, and he’s built broad electoral coalitions that united MAGA loyalists with swing voters to win tough statewide races. And Kemp’s biggest political vulnerability — a yearslong feud with Trump — appears to be behind him after they forged a recent truce.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, recently told Semafor that Kemp was his “number one recruit.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune regularly checks in with him.
Even Greene, never a close Kemp ally, said he’d make a “very solid candidate” if he runs.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
The governor has consistently said he’s focused on his “day job,” including his yearslong push to pass a rewrite of state litigation rules. He’s not expected to announce his decision until after the legislative session ends on April 4.
But he’s also doing little to tamp down speculation. His new role as chair of the Republican Governors Association gives him a national platform. His federal PAC has raised money targeting Ossoff.
And this weekend, he will join Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference, one of the world’s largest gatherings of defense leaders and global heads of state.
To add to the pressure campaign, conservative firms are releasing internal polls nudging him to run.
The latest, leaked this week by Tyson Group, shows Kemp with a 49-42 lead over Ossoff in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. Against Carter and Greene, however, Ossoff holds a double-digit lead.
‘Every option open’
Some of Kemp’s confidants doubt he’d enjoy the halting pace of the U.S. Senate after eight years as a powerful state executive. Others believe he’ll skip the race to enter the private sector or position himself for a White House bid.
Cole Muzio, a close Kemp ally who heads the conservative Frontline Policy Council, said “every option is open” to Kemp — including a potential run for president.
“It is not lost on him that, if he runs, he will not only flip that seat but lift up the rest of the statewide ticket,” he said. “Also not lost in the equation is his enviable national positioning.”
For all of Muzio’s confidence, senior Republicans recognize Ossoff won’t be easy to beat.
The Democrat has worked to burnish his bipartisan credentials, crossing party lines to sponsor human trafficking crackdowns and prison overhaul measures with Republicans.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
At a Georgia Forestry Association event this week, he drew praise from conservatives when news broke he partnered with Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on a revamp of the federal Forestry Service’s strategic plan.
Fundraising likely won’t be an issue for Ossoff, who has already stockpiled $5 million in his campaign account.
And mindful that he’ll need to win over Trump voters to secure another term, Ossoff has been strategic in his criticism of the returning president. At a news conference Thursday, he highlighted fallout of Trump’s proposed cuts to local biomedical research.
Electability may be the GOP’s biggest test. Muzio issued a stark warning to Republicans pondering a post-Kemp field if the governor decides against a run.
“We should not lose this race,” he said. “But if we nominate someone not ready for primetime, we will.”
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