Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced Monday afternoon that he would not jump into the 2026 Georgia Senate race.
Kemp, a popular two-term governor, was viewed by GOP operatives as the best candidate to defeat Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in the midterm race. Kemp’s decision to pass a run is expected to jumpstart a Republican primary contest during which several Republican candidates previously supportive of Kemp are expected to enter the race.
Kemp wrote running for Senate was “not the right decision for me and my family” in a post on X Monday afternoon.
National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Tim Scott previously described Kemp as the party’s top Senate recruit across the country.
Scott and Senate Majority Leader John Thune traveled to Atlanta in April to lobby Kemp to run, Axios first reported.
Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is “seriously considering” running for Ossoff’s seat, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.
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