Why Chris Carr thinks his head start in Georgia’s 2026 gov race will pay off

Carr is positioning himself as a mainstream Republican who supports President-elect Donald Trump but is no die-hard loyalist. Trump backed a failed primary challenger against Carr in 2022 and is closely tied to Jones, one of his most influential backers in Georgia.

Pressed on Trump’s potential to sway the race, the attorney general said he is framing himself as a “pro-Chris Carr candidate” who is focused on winning over Georgia voters.

“But I know this — the Trump administration is going to be far better on the issues that I care about,” Carr said.

As to whether he would actively court Trump’s endorsement, Carr was noncommittal.

“I want anybody to participate in our race that thinks we’re going to do a great job. It doesn’t matter who. But at the end of the day, though, Georgians will be voting,” he said. “I’ve got to focus on people who will actually be voting in the primary in May 2026 and then in November of 2026 when we win the nomination.”

Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC

Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC

He’s centering his campaign instead on two other GOP figures. The first is the late U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a pioneering Republican who was Carr’s political mentor. Both he and his wife, Joan Kirchner Carr, served as Isakson’s top aide.

“Johnny Isakson taught me don’t worry about what anybody else is going to do, whether they’re going to run against you, what they’re going to say,” Carr said.

The other is Kemp, who polls regularly show is the most popular Republican in state politics. The governor and Carr are longtime political allies, and the attorney general said he’d “model” his campaign after Kemp’s successful runs.

“There is one governor at a time. We have a great governor in Brian Kemp and what he has done to transform economic development and focus on the safety of the people of the state. That is what we need to continue to do.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Carr made clear his allegiance to Kemp in other ways, too, throughout the interview.

He seconded Kemp’s push for a rewrite of Georgia’s litigation rules to make it harder to file certain types of lawsuits, though he didn’t offer specifics on several contentious aspects of the proposal, such as caps on jury awards in some cases.

“You have to be able to have access (to the judicial system) if somebody truly gets injured,” Carr said. “But it shouldn’t be a place that somebody goes to just say, ‘You know what, I’m going to get a jackpot jury award and unfairly profit from the whole thing.’ ”

He renewed his support for legislation that would ban transgender girls from competing in women’s high school sports, saying it was “not fair” to female athletes.

And Carr backed Kemp’s opposition to a Medicaid expansion amid a growing debate within the GOP’s ranks over the policy. A number of rank-and-file Republicans have called for an expansion, and others, including Jones, have said they’re open to the idea of boosting the state’s Medicaid rolls.

Highlighting Kemp’s firm opposition to an expansion, Carr said lawmakers should give more leeway to the governor’s Georgia Pathways program, which requires enrollees to meet work or academic requirements before becoming eligible for Medicaid benefits. Democrats have called for an investigation into “waste mismanagement” of the program, which only enrolled about 6,000 enrollees.

“Why not give that a chance?”

Here are excerpts from the interview, edited for clarity:

On whether he sees Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case against Trump as political retribution:

“I think there’s a lot that’s gone on in this country for the last several years, where it’s happening on both sides of the aisle. One of the things we need to do in politics is stay in our lane. … I would just suggest it is not going to serve our nation well if we go after our political enemies if we don’t like what they’ve done, in office or not.”

On why he got in the race nearly two years before the November 2026 election:

“Because I intend to win, and this is a big state. … We’ve got to organize and capitalize, like Johnny Isakson taught us. There are 159 counties. This is a huge state with 12 million people we’ve got to try to reach out to. I want people to get to know me and know that I want to do the job. … But these statewide races are tough. The race for governor is an important one, and we intend to win it by organizing and capitalizing.”

On his approach to Trump, who tried to unseat Carr in 2022:

“In 2026, I’m going to be a pro-Chris Carr candidate. And that’s what I would do. Focusing on jobs and public safety is what I believe has built this state. … All I can do is focus on me and focus on those 12 million Georgians.”

On whether Trump’s endorsement will matter:

I think endorsements certainly matter to some people, but at the end of the day, what’s going to matter is who gets 50 plus 1 percent of the vote in Georgia in May of 2026. I’m not going to be anti-anybody. I’m going to be pro me.”

On opposing a Medicaid expansion:

“I’m not for the largest tax increase in state history, which is what it would be if we were to expand Medicaid. But I fundamentally believe what Brian Kemp believes and what Jon Burns believes, that the states are supposed to be innovators of opportunity and for policy. Why not give us a chance to do it the way that we see is best for the people of our state?”

On his political role models:

“I thought I worked for the greatest retail politician in Georgia history in Johnny Isakson. Brian Kemp is the best retail politician I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean, he was in every courthouse in Georgia. He was on the road. His ability to connect with people is unbelievable. And I think that’s why he’s been so successful. He’s been principled and he’s been genuine.”

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres