Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won't run for US Senate seat in 2026 against Democrat Jon Ossoff

ATLANTA — Brian Kemp, Georgia's Republican governor, announced Monday that he's not running for U.S. Senate in 2026 against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

Kemp, who will leave the governor's chair in 2027 after eight years due to term limits, has long been at the top of the GOP's wish list to challenge Ossoff, whom Republican leaders have made their biggest target in next year's midterm elections. His decision not to run will likely result in a competitive primary among candidates who have never won a top statewide race.

''I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November, and ultimately be a conservative voice in the US Senate who will put hardworking Georgians first,'' Kemp said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents a district on Georgia's coast, is itching to run and is likely to jump in. Other possibilities could include U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Rich McCormick, state Insurance Commissioner John King and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

A possible candidate with massive name recognition is U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prolific fundraiser who may have gone as far as she can go in the House and was passed over for a position in the Trump administration. She has said she's considering running for Senate or governor in 2026, but her entry into either race would likely prompt internal opposition from more traditional Republicans, including those aligned with Kemp.

Some Democrats are eager for her to run, believing she's poison to a majority of voters. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, told reporters Monday that Republicans were ''stuck'' with Greene as their nominee.

Alec Ernst, a spokesperson for Greene, said he didn't know her future plans but ''she is honored to have such positive support from the people of Georgia.''

A number of top-tier Republicans appear to have excluded themselves by taking top positions in President Donald Trump's administration, including former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, currently secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration; and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, ambassador to China.

Raffensperger, long a target of Trump because of his unwillingness to overturn Trump's 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden in Georgia, was noncommittal on Monday.

''All options are on the table,'' said Jordan Fuchs, a spokesperson for Raffensperger.

Mike Collins told The Associated Press he would defer to Trump.

''He'll pick the right person to get this thing done, and I'll be standing right behind,'' Collins said.

King, who was appointed by Kemp and has been a close ally, heaped praise on Kemp, calling him ''the best governor in America'' in a statement. Carter likewise praised Kemp, saying Georgia voters who backed Trump ''deserve someone who is going to support him, and the will of the people, in the Senate.''

Ryan Mahoney, a political adviser to McCormick, said ''it's no surprise that hardworking Georgians from across the state are urging him to run for the United States Senate,'' adding that McCormick would decide ''at the appropriate time.''

National Republicans have already been advertising against Ossoff, who launched his reelection bid at a March rally where he proclaimed his defiance to Trump. They've also attacked Ossoff for saying in a town hall two weeks ago that he believed Trump had committed impeachable offenses in his second term.

''While Jon Ossoff is running to impeach President Trump, Republicans have a number of candidates who can build a winning coalition to add this seat to President Trump's Senate majority,'' Joanna Rodriguez of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a statement.

Democrats were gleeful at Kemp's exit.

''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," Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement.

The 61-year-old Kemp hesitated for months about entering the race, seemingly reluctant to become one of 100 senators after years of charting his own course in executive office. That's especially true as Trump, who once regarded Kemp as an enemy, stands astride the Republican Party.

Kemp has harbored ambitions to run for president and had faced questions about whether it would be better to do so as a senator or to follow in the footsteps of fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter and run as a successful former governor. Losing a Senate race would probably extinguish such hopes, but staying out could leave the door open to run directly for the White House after he leaves office.

The election is likely to be closely contested and fantastically expensive. The twin Senate races in 2020, when Ossoff and Raphael Warnock narrowly won and flipped control of the body to Democrats, cost more than $900 million combined, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Warnock's 2022 reelection over Republican Herschel Walker cost more than $470 million, OpenSecrets found.

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Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam contributed from Washington.