Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will continue to run for the U.S. Senate in next year’s midterm elections.
Ailsa Chang, host:
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is a two-term, says he is running for the US Senate in next year’s midterm elections. It was a blow to Republicans, and Republicans spent months courting him to challenge Democrat Sen. John Ossoff. Wabe’s Sam Gringlas reports from Atlanta about what Kemp’s decision shows about the 2026 Senate fight.
Sam Glingras, Signed: All Spring, politicians, journalists and strategists are eagerly awaiting Kemp’s decision.
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Brian Kemp: Obviously, there are a lot of people reaching out to me. And I just try to get the most downtime possible and think about things. And we keep posting people.
Gringlas: Senate majority leader John Thune met Kemp and his wife in Atlanta last month. The former governor’s own Senator Pete Ricketts spoke with Kemp several times. Of the states Trump won in 2024, Georgia is the only one with a democratic senator for reelection. Republicans saw Georgia as the best pick-up opportunity and Kemp as the strongest candidate.
Brian Robinson: You can’t name another Republican who took over Trump and won and is still loved by Republicans. It’s definitely not parallel.
Gringruss: Republican strategist Brian Robinson mentions 2020 when Kemp rejected Trump’s plea for helping him overturn the election outcome. Trump then supported a major challenge to the governor. Kemp has been cancelled as governor. The two men reconciled before the 2024 presidential campaign ended. Democrats hope that Trump’s second term actions will boost them in the midterm. Ossov began his re-election bid last month with strong words about the president.
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John Ossoff: Georgia does not bow to the king.
(support)
Gringlas: In a poll in the Atlanta Journal Constitution last week, Kemp was found in the heat of his death with Ossov.
Robinson: The people of Ossov are smart. They know that the best players on the field are on the sidelines themselves. I imagine a cork popping out and a loud cry of celebration.
Gringlas: Kemp was posted on X this week, saying that it was not the right decision for him and his family to run next year.
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Grinrus: Steve Wrigley, the Chief of Staff for Georgia Governor Zell Miller, later advanced to the Senate, but refused to run for reelection.
Steve Wrigley: He told me once – he said, you know, I just wanted to be here for 20 years, hoping I would be the chair of the subcommittee.
Grinruss: Wrigley was in his yard when I called him.
Wrigley: I’ll go to the final 4 pack of Zinnia’s seeds, then I’m done.
Grinrath: He told me from a powerful CEO that going to one of 100 people in the polarised, sometimes paralyzed Senate is difficult for his old boss.
Wrigley: I think Joe Biden was the one in the Senate at the time, but many new governors said they were just struggling to become a Senator.
Gringlas: That dynamic is more pronounced today. In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer refused to run for the Senate seat. Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennett is running for governor. And in New Hampshire, another top GOP recruit, Republican Governor Chris Sununu, passed the Senate run. Jay Morgan, a veteran of Georgia GOP politics, says Congress has given way to the president a lot of power.
Jay Morgan: Trump is just dealing with Congress now. Congress has never been more unrelated than ever.
Gringlas: Georgia had frozen the GOP Senate field – up until now. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are not ruled out by Republicans. Hours after beating the race, Kemp spoke to donors at the annual Sea Island Retreat. Morgan says he is one of Kemp’s supporters who was disappointed with the decision.
Morgan: But this guy was a real mainstay in American politics, so I don’t think anyone is mad about it.
Gringlas: And now, skipping the run doesn’t mean that Kemp’s career will end when he takes office in 2027. Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock is standing up for reelection in 2028. For NPR News, it’s Atlanta’s Sam Glingruss.
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