Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced on Monday that he’s forgoing a bid to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in Georgia next year, delivering a major blow to Republicans who sought to recruit him for the race.
“Over the last few weeks, I have had many conversations with friends, supporters, and leaders across the country who encouraged me to run for the US Senate in 2026. I greatly appreciate their support and prayers for our family,” the two-term GOP governor said in a post on the social platform X.
“After those discussions, I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family,” he continued, adding that he had spoken with President Trump and Senate GOP leadership about the decision earlier that day, expressing his “commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November.”
The news is a blow for Republicans, who largely saw Kemp as their most formidable opponent to Ossoff, the first-term Georgia Democrat who narrowly ousted now-U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue in the 2020 cycle.
Ossoff campaign manager Ellen Foster responded to the news in a statement saying, “As we’ve said for the past few months, Senator Ossoff is well-prepared to defeat any challenger.”
“As Republicans scramble in the aftermath, our campaign will continue to build insurmountable momentum needed to win next November.”
Kemp has also been seen as a potential 2028 contender and most believed that if he was considering running for president, he was unlikely to make a bid for the Senate in 2026.
The Georgia Republican’s announcement will almost certainty kick off a chaotic and spirited primary for the nomination to take on Ossoff, the only Senate Democrat running for reelection in a battleground state in 2026.
Republicans who have said they would be interested in running if Kemp opted against it, or who could very well jump in, include Reps. Rich McCormick, Mike Collins, Buddy Carter and Marjorie Taylor Greene, in addition to Insurance Commissioner John King. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could also launch a bid as well.
Senate Republicans projected confidence that they had a strong chance of flipping the seat next year.
“While Jon Ossoff is running to impeach President Trump, Republicans have a number of strong candidates who can build a winning coalition to add this seat to President Trump’s Senate Majority,” said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
Other Republicans, however, were more candid. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Monday that they were “disappointed” and said he “would have been [a] great candidate.” Still, he maintained it would be competitive “either way.”
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats ridiculed Republicans over Kemp’s announcement in their own statement.
“Brian Kemp’s decision to not run for Senate in 2026 is yet another embarrassing Republican Senate recruitment failure as they face a building midterm backlash where every GOP candidate will be forced to answer for Trump’s harmful agenda,” Maeve Coyle, a spokeswoman for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, said. “Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda and recruitment failures put their majority at risk in 2026.”
Ossoff’s campaign did not immediately offer a comment about Kemp’s retirement when asked.
Public polling had shown that Kemp would keep the race competitive with Ossoff, aided by the fact that President Trump won the state in November by just over 2 points.
Polling released by The Atlantic Journal-Constitution this month, which was conducted by University of Georgia’s School of Public & International Affairs Survey Research Center showed Kemp with a strong approval rating of 60 percent, while it showed Ossoff with a 48 percent approval rating.
When respondents were asked about a hypothetical matchup between Ossoff and Kemp, 49 percent said the GOP governor while 45.7 percent supported Ossoff, just outside of the poll’s 3.1 point margin of error.
In hypothetical matchups between Ossoff and several other Republicans – including King, Greene and Raffensberger – Ossoff beat each of them. Ossoff beat Raffensberger by close to 10 points in a head-to-head; he beat King by close to 13 points; and he beat Greene by 17 points.
Even without Kemp in the race, Ossoff faces a challenging reelection. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) ran against Republican Herschel Walker, who was dogged by personal controversies, in 2022 and was forced into a runoff with him before ultimately winning.
At the same time, Ossoff could benefit from a crowded and raucous GOP primary, which could leave to the Republican nominee bruised heading into the general election.
Updated at 4:13 p.m. EDT
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