U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she doesn’t feel strongly about any of the leading candidates for U.S. Senate or governor of Georgia and is withholding her support for now.
“I’m not going to endorse anyone anytime soon,” she said on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast. “And I don’t feel excited to do that right now.”
Greene considered running for one of the posts, but ultimately decided to seek a fourth term in the U.S. House next fall.
She is one of the highest profile GOP elected officials nationally and has built a huge platform among conservatives on social media, which allows her to raise millions of dollars each campaign cycle.
Greene said the Georgian Republicans running for Senate and governor are not talking about what matters to voters most, like crime, improving the education system, addressing the environmental impact of data centers that power AI and securing the border.
She also said she has been turned off by candidates whose immigration messaging has focused on Laken Riley, the college student killed by an undocumented migrant and for whom a federal law enforcement bill was named.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for Senate, was the primary sponsor of the bill and mentions it often on the campaign. Another candidate, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, recently released a campaign add highlighting his support for the legislation.
Greene didn’t name names but said she feels like the focus on Riley’s case has been gratuitous and retraumatizing for the young woman’s family.
“I’m looking for serious candidates,” Greene said. “I’m looking for candidates that have compassion for Laken Riley’s mother and sister and not dragging her face and the killer on TV every day, while still being able to maintain the issue of crime and secure borders.”
Overall, Greene said she is turned off and not interested in the campaigns right now. She declined to back Collins, Carter or former football coach Derek Dooley in the Senate contest, or Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr or Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the gubernatorial race.
The primary for both offices is in May.
Greene said she worries other GOP voters are also checked out. The recent overperformance of a Democratic candidate running in a special election for a state Senate seat in a Republican-leaning district is her latest data point.
Democrat Debra Shigley took the top spot in last month’s election with roughly 40% of the vote. Shigley and second-place finisher Republican Jason Dickerson will meet in a runoff later this month.
Shigley did 10 percentage points better in the special election than the Democrat who ran for the same seat last November.
Greene said these election results indicate Republican voters “have completely checked out.” She said party leaders may have become complacent after the 2024 election that put Donald Trump back in the White House.
But that won’t necessarily translate to 2026, Greene said.
“I’m not inspired, and I’m a pretty good bellwether,” she said. “If I’m not inspired, there’s a lot of other people that are not inspired.”
Listen to the full interview with Greene on Wednesday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast.
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