U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter became the first prominent Republican to jump into the race against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, launching his campaign Thursday with a TV ad that casts him as a pro-Donald Trump “MAGA warrior.”
Carter, a six-term Savannah-area incumbent, announced his campaign just days after Gov. Brian Kemp passed on a run, triggering what’s expected to be a GOP free-for-all to challenge the Democrat. About a dozen other Georgia Republicans are also considering bids.
Carter telegraphed his strategy with an opening ad that attacked Ossoff’s immigration stance and blasted the Democrat’s vote against a GOP-led measure to bar transgender girls from competing in women’s sports.
“Jon Ossoff is on the wrong side. Trump has a warrior in Buddy Carter,” said the ad, which features footage of Trump praising the Georgia lawmaker. “Buddy helped Trump secure our border and put America first. And he knows the difference between a man and a woman.”
The 30-second spot ends by calling Carter a “MAGA warrior for U.S. Senate.“
Carter has been prepping for a potential Senate bid for years. In 2021, he assembled a campaign team to challenge U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock but ultimately passed when Trump-backed football star Herschel Walker entered the race.
This cycle, Carter made little secret of his ambitions to challenge Ossoff, one of the top GOP targets on the 2026 ballot. He told activists and donors he’s prepared to run if Kemp stayed out.
A former mayor of the Savannah suburb of Pooler, Carter built a reputation as a constituent-focused representative with a knack for retail politics who has honed ties to both the mainstream and MAGA wings of his party.
Recently, he’s moved even closer to Trump’s orbit, including sponsoring headline-grabbing legislation that would authorize the president to negotiate a deal with Denmark to purchase Greenland and rename it “Red, White, and Blueland.”
Like other GOP contenders from outside metro Atlanta, Carter faces a name recognition challenge in the state’s population center. But the pharmacist has pledged to tap into his personal fortune to help promote his campaign.
Officials say he plans to spend $2.3 million on his opening ad barrage — and intends to commit at least eight figures to the race.
His latest financial disclosure shows he has at least $12 million in assets, though his net worth is likely far higher. He also recently reported more than $3 million in his campaign account.
Carter is just the first of several expected GOP contenders.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Jackson said this week he’s consulting with Trump to “do whatever is necessary to ensure he has another vote in the Senate.” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Rome is considering a run. Insurance Commissioner John King has laid the groundwork for a bid. Others are also maneuvering for an opening.
Each is expected to focus their campaign message on an allegiance Trump, who recaptured Georgia in November after narrowly losing the state in 2020 but has alienated some supporters since taking office. Trump notched a 43% approval rating in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll this month, with many independent voters saying they don’t agree with his immigration and economic agenda.
Whoever emerges from the GOP field will face a well-funded and battle-tested incumbent. Ossoff has built a formidable campaign operation, amassed more than $11 million, and is emphasizing both his bipartisan record and his opposition to Trump’s public health cuts and efforts to expand presidential power.
Carter’s campaign sets up a bitter fight for his conservative-leaning coastal Georgia district.
Kandiss Taylor, an ultraconservative Republican with a penchant for conspiracy theories who called herself a “Jesus, guns and babies” candidate, is already running. But key party leaders are already searching for alternatives.
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