ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter on Thursday became the first Republican to jump into the race to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, as other hopefuls maneuver following Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement that he won’t seek the seat.
Carter, who has long had his eye on statewide office, proclaiming that President Donald Trump “has a warrior in Buddy Carter” and attacking Ossoff.
At least six other Georgia Republicans have said they’re considering a run for Senate. Best known among them is U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Also included are two other Georgia Republicans in Congress — Mike Collins and Rich McCormick. Other potential candidates include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, state Insurance Commissioner John King and state Sen. Greg Dolezal.
Though not well-known statewide, Carter has been a political fixture along Georgia’s coast for nearly three decades. The 67-year-old pharmacist served as mayor of Pooler just outside Savannah and was a lawmaker in the state House and Senate before being elected to Congress in 2014.
Eric Johnson, who served as the top Republican in the Georgia Senate before making an unsuccessful run for governor in 2010, said he’s backing Carter.
“He’s known for good constituent service, and he’s accessible and visible, some of the things other candidates overlook,” said Johnson, a retired architect who lives in Effingham County west of Savannah.
He said Carter should also have plenty of money, which he’ll need to increase his name-recognition across Georgia’s 159 counties. As of March 31, Carter reported having nearly $3.5 million cash on hand to defend his House seat next fall. He could transfer that money to kickstart a Senate race.
Any Republican primary will not only be a race for voters, but for Trump’s endorsement. Whoever gets the Trump nod would be stamped as the frontrunner, and an early endorsement could push others away from the race.
Carter, while still touting bipartisan legislative efforts, particularly around prescription drugs, has sought to move closer to Trump, casting himself as a “MAGA Warrior” in Thursday’s announcement.
In 2017, the first year of Trump’s first term, Carter told constituents at a town hall in Savannah that “I am not here to tell you Donald Trump is perfect.” Adding that “God has used imperfect people to do great things.”
He’s been much more bullish on Trump lately. In February, Carter introduced a House bill that would authorize Trump to acquire Greenland and rename it “Red, White and Blueland.”
No serious Democratic challengers have emerged to Ossoff, who launched his reelection campaign in March with sharp attacks on Trump. But Ossoff also says he’ll work with Trump to help Georgia and says working with Republicans is the best way to get things done in Washington.
National Republicans have already been advertising against Ossoff’s barring schools from allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. Ossoff calls that an obsession most voters don’t share. 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.
Like the earlier national Republican ad, Carter on Thursday targeted Ossoff on transgender women in women’s sports.
“He fought against President Trump securing our border and voted for men in girls’ sports. Jon Ossoff is on the wrong side.”
Any race will be expensive. Ossoff raised more than $11 million just in the first three months of 2025. 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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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
