One of the last times former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler was on a stage at the Grand Hyatt in Atlanta, it was the night of Jan. 5, 2001. She, along with every Republican in Georgia, was hoping to get word that she’d won her Senate runoff election against then-candidate Raphael Warnock.

Loeffler lost that night, but she hasn’t left the field for the GOP. Within months, she launched a grassroots organization, Greater Georgia, and spent millions to set up conservative voter registration and turnout machines that she said did not exist when she was running for office.

“As a businesswoman, you don’t just shut down a quarter-billion dollar enterprise and say, ‘Great, let someone else figure out how to set all this up again,’” she said. “So I built Greater Georgia.”

Erickson didn’t let Loeffler leave the stage without asking about her political plans for the future. She’s often mentioned among Republicans as a potential candidate for governor in 2026, especially since having a pre-built statewide organization like Loeffler’s would be a huge advantage for any candidate.

“Greater Georgia is plenty of politics for me right now,” she said.

- Live updates: Latest from The Gathering

About the Author

Keep Reading

Chip Carter, a son of the late President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, with longtime family caregiver and nanny, Mary Prince. "She's just family," Carter said. Plains, Georgia, July 2, 2025. (Courtesy of Chuck Williams)

Credit: Courtesy Chuck Williams

Featured

Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC