2026 races loom at Georgia Republican convention as Trump loyalty dominates

DALTON, Ga. — Steve Bannon took the stage Friday night at the Georgia Republican Convention to say it's too early to be talking about 2026.

''Don't even think about the midterms,'' the Republican strategist told activists. ''Not right now. '26, we'll think about it later. It's backing President Trump right now.''

But it didn't work.

There was plenty of praise for Donald Trump. And while the party took care of other business like electing officers and adopting a platform, the 2026 races for governor and Senate were already on the minds of many on Friday and Saturday in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton.

''Everybody campaigns as quick as they can,'' U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told The Associated Press Saturday.

Lots of other people showed up sounding like candidates. Greene, after passing on a U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, laid out a slate of state-level issues on Saturday that will likely fuel speculation that she might run for governor to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

Echoing Trump's signature slogan, Greene told the convention to ''Make Georgia great again, for Georgia.''

She called for abolishing the state income tax, infusing ''classical'' principles into Georgia's public schools, reopening mental hospitals to take mentally ill people off the streets, and changing Georgia's economic incentive policy to de-emphasize tax breaks for foreign companies and television and moviemakers.

''Now these are state-level issues, but I want you to be talking about them,'' Greene said.

In her AP interview before the speech, Greene said running for governor is an ''option,'' but also said she has a ''wonderful blessing'' of serving her northwest Georgia district and exercising influence in Washington.

''Pretty much every single primary poll shows that I am the top leader easily, and that gives me the ability to think about it. But it's a choice. It's my own, that I will talk about with my family.''

More likely to run for governor is Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is expected to announce a bid later this summer.

''I promise you, I'm going to be involved in this upcoming election cycle,'' Jones told delegates Friday.

Like Greene, Jones is among the Georgia Republicans closest to Trump, and emphasized that ''the circle is small'' of prominent Republicans who stood by the president after the 2020 election. Jones also took a veiled shot at state Attorney General Chris Carr, who declared his bid for governor in December and showed up Friday to work the crowd, but did not deliver a speech to the convention.

''Always remember who showed up for you,'' Jones said. ''And always remember who delivers on their promises.''

Carr told the AP that he didn't speak because he was instead attending a campaign event at a restaurant in Dalton on Friday, emphasizing the importance of building personal relationships. Although Trump targeted him for defeat in the 2022 primary, Carr said he's confident that Republicans will support him, calling himself a ''proud Kemp Republican," and saying he would focus on bread-and-butter issues.

''This state's been built on agriculture, manufacturing, trade, the military, public safety,'' Carr said. ''These are the issues that Georgians care about.''

The easiest applause line all weekend was pledging to help beat Ossoff.

''Jon Ossoff should not be in office at all," said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is spending heavily on television advertising to support his Senate run.

''Folks, President Trump needs backup, he needs backup in the Senate,'' said state Insurance Commissioner John King, who is also running for the Senate. "He's going to need a four-year majority to get the job done. And that starts right here in the state of Georgia.''

Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who expressed interest Friday in running for Senate, did not address delegates.

But one other potential candidate, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, did. Collins told delegates that in 2026 it was a priority to defeat Ossoff and replace him with a ''solid conservative.''

It's not clear, though, if Collins himself will run.

''We're going to see how this thing plays out,'' Collins told the AP. ''I'm not burning to be a senator, but we've got to take this seat back.''