U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has never said much about Gov. Brian Kemp‘s potential run for the U.S. Senate, insisting he was ready to take on the popular second-term governor or any other Republican who entered the field.
But Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief with Kemp‘s decision to pass on a challenge. He was the only Republican within striking distance of Ossoff in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.
Days later, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also ruled out a Senate bid. With Greene and Kemp out, here’s a list of some of the potential candidates:
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter
A six-term incumbent, 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 before passing on a run when football star Herschel Walker entered the contest.
Though not a household name in Georgia politics, the Savannah-area pharmacist has built a reputation as a constituent-focused representative and is wealthy enough to at least partially self-finance a campaign.
Recently, he’s aligned himself even more firmly behind President Donald Trump, raising eyebrows earlier this year when he introduced legislation that would authorize the president to negotiate a deal with Denmark’s government to purchase Greenland and rename it “Red, White, and Blueland.”
Status: He entered on May 8.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins
The son of a former congressman, Collins was elected to his deeply conservative northeast Georgia seat in 2022 after defeating a Trump-backed rival in a runoff. He has wasted no time making a mark in Washington.
Always a fierce Trump loyalist, he gained a reputation as a legislative workhorse and a political brawler.
He was the first member of the freshman class to sponsor a bill signed by President Joe Biden. And the first law Trump signed in January was a Collins-backed immigration crackdown named for murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Collins has crisscrossed the country campaigning for other MAGA candidates with the aim of creating an “America First Congress.” And he’s a fixture in Georgia GOP circles, drawing hundreds of supporters to a May rally where he unloaded on Ossoff.
His memes and far-right takes have endeared him to Trump loyalists. But they’ve also sparked controversy. Critics have labeled some racist or xenophobic, and he faced bipartisan backlash last year for spreading conspiracy theories.
Status: He’s considering a run.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Once so obscure that even many Republicans hadn’t heard of her, Marjorie Taylor Greene is now known across the nation by just three letters: MTG.
The former owner of a fitness studio, Greene made her first foray into politics in 2020 when she mounted a short-lived bid for a suburban Atlanta seat before switching to a deep-red district in northwest Georgia after a long-serving GOP incumbent retired.
She won that race despite intense scrutiny of her history of hateful and conspiratorial remarks. Since then, she’s become one of the most controversial figures in Congress, fueled by a shock-and-awe style that has made her a favorite of Trump.
That polarizing persona has some Democrats eager for her to jump into the race. Ossoff has openly goaded her, questioning whether she has the “guts to do it.” And the latest AJC poll shows him with a 17-point edge over Greene in a hypothetical matchup.
Status: She’s out.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper
A seventh-generation farmer, Tyler Harper was just three years out of the University of Georgia when he won his first term in the Georgia Senate in 2012. He staked out a reliably conservative record over five terms in the chamber, where he became a close ally of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
He easily won his 2022 race for agriculture commissioner, backed by bipartisan endorsements from both President Donald Trump and former Gov. Roy Barnes, the last Democrat to win Georgia’s top job.
Since taking office, Harper has been a constant on the campaign trail. He’s also at the center of ongoing efforts to secure federal aid for farmers still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating, generational damage across broad parts of Georgia.
Status: He hasn’t ruled it out.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
U.S. Rep. Brian Jack
The newest member of Georgia’s congressional delegation, Jack was elected in November to an open U.S. House seat that stretches from Atlanta’s southern suburbs to the Alabama state line.
The 37-year-old was Trump’s national delegate director during the 2016 campaign and later took a job at the White House. In 2019, Trump made him his political director and he was one of the few staffers who remained by his side the full four years.
He’s already emerged as a power player in the House, where he’s the only freshman on the powerful Rules Committee. Capitol insiders see him on a path to a leadership post – if he decides to stay in the chamber.
Status: Could be a darkhorse candidate.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Insurance Commissioner John King
A native of Mexico, King rose from Atlanta beat cop to Doraville police chief before Kemp appointed him as insurance commissioner in 2019. He was elected to a full term in 2022, becoming the first Latino to win a statewide race in Georgia history.
King, a recently retired major general in the U.S. Army National Guard, told the AJC his record in the military and law enforcement will set him apart from the rest of the GOP field.
He’s laid the groundwork for a bid for months, including meeting in Washington with Senate GOP leaders and regular appearances at Republican events across the state. He’s a vocal champion of Kemp‘s legislative agenda.
Still, King faces a steep climb building name recognition with voters, and a recent AJC poll showed him trailing Ossoff by 13 points in a head-to-head race.
Status: He entered the race on May 12.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick
McCormick is an emergency room physician and U.S. Marine veteran who is considered a wild card in Georgia’s GOP congressional delegation. He narrowly lost a swing seat in 2020 before winning a redrawn, Republican-friendly district two years later.
He quickly carved out a maverick image, posting fitness feats and polar plunges on social media. He was also one of the few senior Georgia Republicans to initially endorse Ron DeSantis over Trump for president — though he later aligned himself with the MAGA wing of the party.
He’s made headlines with provocative remarks, including recent criticism of federal school lunch programs. A February town hall in Roswell went viral after he was bombarded with catcalls and jeers, underscoring the squeeze some Republicans face.
In response to the backlash, McCormick urged the White House to slow federal layoffs — a hot-button issue Democrats have seized on ahead of 2026.
Status: He’s a wild card for a reason.
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
Best known for rejecting Trump‘s demand to “find” exactly enough votes to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, Raffensperger has spent the years since walking a political tightrope.
He’s one of Georgia’s most recognizable political figures, with a national reputation that could help him attract crossover support from Trump critics who admired his stand against election fraud lies.
But first, he would have to survive a Republican primary still dominated by Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to oust him from office in 2022 and hasn’t had a kind word for him since.
Raffensperger has dismissed claims that he’s a phony Republican as “silly,” pointing to support for Georgia’s 2021 election overhaul and long-running legal battles with Democrat Stacey Abrams and her allies over voting rules.
He’s tried to position himself as a reliable conservative, praising Trump‘s new efforts to shrink government agencies and cut costs. In a recent 11Alive interview, he was asked what a “true conservative” looks like.
“I think you’re looking at him,” he replied.
Status: Unlikely, but he’s said he’s “looking at all my options.”
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