{"id":2404339,"date":"2025-02-19T16:36:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-georgia-senate-contenders-emerge-as-kemp-mulls-options-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T16:36:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:36:23","slug":"republican-georgia-senate-contenders-emerge-as-kemp-mulls-options-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-georgia-senate-contenders-emerge-as-kemp-mulls-options-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican Georgia Senate contenders emerge as Kemp mulls options &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-georgia-senate-contenders-emerge-as-kemp-mulls-options-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2404339&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Georgia, Governor \u200dBrian Kemp is currently favored \u2064to run for the Senate in the 2026 election but has\u2062 not yet declared\u200d his candidacy. Simultaneously occurring, other Republican contenders are positioning themselves for\u2062 a potential run if he chooses not to enter the race against incumbent \u200cSenator Jon Ossoff \u200b(D-GA).Possible candidates include Rep. \u200dBuddy Carter,\u200c Rep. \u2064Rich McCormick, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and state Insurance Commissioner john King. Kemp,who is term-limited\u200b in his role\u2062 as \u2064governor,may finalize his decision after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/40-house-dems-put-forward-legislation-in-attempt-to-bar-trump-from-holding-public-office-again\/\" title=\"40 House Dems Put Forward Legislation in Attempt to Bar Trump From Holding Public Office Again\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-signs-executive-order-to-make-it-easier-to-vote-calls-gop-election-reform-efforts-an-all-out-assault-on-voting-rights\/\" title=\"Biden Signs Executive Order \u2018To Make It Easier\u2019 To Vote, Calls GOP Election Reform Efforts \u2018An All-Out Assault\u2019 On Voting Rights\">current legislative session<\/a> ends<\/a> in April. \u200bThe\u2062 Georgia Senate race is considered a &#8220;toss up&#8221; by analysts, with\u2063 Republicans eager to support\u2064 Kemp due to his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">strong past electoral performance<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Republican Georgia Senate contenders emerge as Kemp mulls options<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1998174\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brian-kemp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Senate\">Brian Kemp<\/a> (R-GA) remains the favorite to win Georgia&rsquo;s 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Senate\">Senate<\/a> election, but without having declared, other contenders are preparing themselves for a run.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>While several Republicans have openly pushed for Kemp, a popular two-term governor, to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) next year, others are setting the framework for a run if Kemp declines, the <em>Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/the-kemp-factor-how-one-decision-will-shape-georgias-2026-senate-race\/DIMO75AH75HGHPKOCLRFOBUWEQ\/\" title=\"reports\">reported<\/a>. Kemp is not expected to make a decision about a Senate run until the end of the current legislative session on April 4.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the names who could for the seat if Kemp declines include Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Rich McCormick (R-GA), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), along with state Insurance Commissioner John King.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) told the outlet that he supports Kemp to be the nominee, but &ldquo;if he takes a pass, I&rsquo;ll talk with President Trump and see who he needs us to support to make sure he has another vote in the Senate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Greene previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/politically-georgia\/marjorie-taylor-greene-doesnt-rule-out-run-for-governor-or-us-senate\/WO7ZCMVUJVH3FIRRLQ4Z6UFL2E\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> on the outlet&rsquo;s <em>Politically Georgia<\/em> podcast that she is &ldquo;considering all possibilities,&rdquo; including a run for governor.<\/p>\n<p>Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek a third term as governor in 2026, potentially making the open seat enticing to Republicans seeking a different statewide race.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is the chairman of the GOP&rsquo;s Senate campaign wing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/01\/27\/2025\/republicans-new-senate-campaign-chair-is-already-recruiting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told<\/a> <em>Semafor <\/em>last month that Kemp is their No. 1 recruit, and that he is hoping the governor will seek the Senate seat.<\/p>\n<p>Georgia is one of two states President Donald Trump won in 2024 that have Democrat-held Senate seats up for election in next year&rsquo;s elections. Michigan will have an open seat after Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said he would not seek reelection in 2026, giving Republicans another potential pick-up.<\/p>\n<p>Ossoff won the seat in January 2021 after defeating then-Sen. David Perdue in a runoff election. Perdue finished ahead of Ossoff in the general election, 49.73%- 47.95%, but because he failed to hit the 50% threshold, the race went to a runoff, where Ossoff won 50.61%- 49.39%.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kemp has performed well ahead of most other GOP candidates in recent statewide elections, winning his 2022 gubernatorial race by more than 7.5%. Trump&rsquo;s margin of victory in the 2024 election in the Peach State was only 2.2%.<\/p>\n<p>The Georgia Senate race has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/ratings\/senate-race-ratings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"rated\">rated<\/a> as a &ldquo;toss up&rdquo; by the <em>Cook Political Report<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1998174\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1998174\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican candidates for Georgia&#8217;s Senate race prepare as Kemp considers options<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2404340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/georgia-brian-kemp-senate-2026.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,4977,50691,3911,3740],"class_list":["post-2404339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-georgia","tag-kemp-2","tag-republican","tag-senate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/georgia-brian-kemp-senate-2026.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2404339"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2404343,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404339\/revisions\/2404343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2404340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2404339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2404339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2404339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}