Donald Trump held his first major rally of the 2024 campaign in Texas. But he gave a shoutout from the stage to Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had traveled with him. .
“Marjorie Taylor Greene, you happen to be here,” Trump said with a smile. “Would you like to run for the Senate? I will fight like hell for you, I tell you.”
Greene said later she had not considered a Senate run at the time. But fast-forward two years, with Trump back in office and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff up for reelection for the first time, and what seemed like a throwaway line from Trump is taking on a whole new meaning.
That’s because Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to figure out who could, and who should, jump into the race against Ossoff now that Gov. Brian Kemp has taken himself out of it. As the pundits and know-it-alls offer up possibilities, a two-step answer follows one Republican in particular.
“There’s Marjorie Taylor Greene,” say the experts, followed by a knowing pause or a raised eyebrow that says, “But that’ll never happen.”
The message, said or unsaid, is that Greene could never, would never, win a statewide race in Georgia in 2026.
But before we count out MTG as someone with statewide potential, let’s rewind the tape to November to see who just won here, namely Trump. Even after losing the state in 2020 and being indicted on felony charges four times, including in Fulton County, Trump won Georgia by two points in 2024.
If you, like me, thought having a mug shot from the Rice Street jail would be the end of Trump’s chances in the state, then it’s time to expand your mind to the possibilities.
Not only did Trump win here, his booking photo became a collectors’ item on the campaign trail. A framed copy of the mug shot now hangs prominently just outside the Oval Office.
Go back a little further in Georgia politics to 2022, when Herschel Walker finished just a point behind U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock on Election Day. Warnock eventually defeated Walker in a December runoff and became the only Democrat elected statewide that year.
But all of that followed a campaign cycle that revealed Walker’s three never discussed children, two alleged abortions and an extensive section in at least one stump speech that included a debate about werewolves vs. vampires.
How did the incumbent and senior Ebenezer pastor almost lose to that? That’s Georgia politics for you.
Into that reality comes the polarizing MTG. She’s the woman some people love to love, others love to hate and most people can’t stop talking about.
That supercharged visibility helps immensely for the all-important game of simply having people know your name in politics. Heading into a primary in Georgia, she would start out as the best-known among all of the GOP candidates mentioned so far, with the possible exception of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Another plus for any candidate, Greene has shown an uncanny ability to raise piles of campaign cash — $23 million since 2019.
Unlike some candidates who rely mostly on large sums from corporate PACs or deep-pocketed donors, Greene’s money advantage has been thanks in large part to small-dollar donations from across the country — a broad and plentiful base that fellow Georgia House members also considering an Ossoff challenge just don’t have.
Finally, Greene’s relationship with Trump himself is unparalleled in the state. Well before the Waco rally, Greene traveled across the country for Trump even when he was busy defending himself in courtrooms.
Greene told us at The Atlanta Constitution in the fall that she is, indeed, considering a statewide run now. And she told News Nation this week that she has a path to win.
“The polling shows that I can win the governor’s primary or the Senate primary or continue to represent my district,” she said. “That’s a choice that I can make. And I’ll give it some thought.”
Whether Greene can win a general election in Georgia is another question entirely, and she surely knows that. As beloved as she is by her supporters, she can also be unpredictable, outlandishly outspoken and verbally cruel — all attributes she happens to share with Trump, and that didn’t keep him from getting elected.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Ironically, the biggest strike against Greene may be the fact that she is a woman, as no woman has been elected to a marquee statewide office like senator or governor in Georgia. Just two women have ever held Senate seats and both were appointed — Rebecca Felton, for a single day in 1922, and Kelly Loeffler, whose tenure in the Senate at least lasted longer than that.
Ossoff, for his part, enters his own reelection cycle with plenty going for him, not the least of which is Kemp’s decision to take a pass on the race.
The freshman Democrat also has a huge war chest, a positive approval rating, an unpopular (for now) White House to run against and a track record of winning races he’s not supposed to win.
People in politics like to think they can predict the future. With data and polling at the ready, they say they can tell you today what will happen tomorrow, two days from now or even two years from now.
But if I’ve learned anything covering Georgia politics for the last four years, it’s that anything can and will happen. The only thing we can truly expect in this gonzo, battleground state is the unexpected.
So “Senator MTG?” It could happen.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
