Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has passed on running for U.S. Senate in 2026, opening the race for other GOP contenders.

“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. After those discussions, I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family,” Kemp said.

“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,” he continued.

“I am confident we will be united in that important effort, and I look forward to electing the next generation of leaders up and down the ballot here in the Peach State who will keep our state and nation headed in the right direction in 2026 and beyond,” he added.

Fox News reports:

The popular conservative governor, who is term-limited and prevented from seeking re-election in 2026, was the GOP’s dream candidate to take on Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is considered vulnerable, as Republicans aim to expand their 53-47 Senate majority next year.

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Ossoff, who is running for a second six-year term in the Senate after flipping the seat with a razor-thin victory in a January 2021 runoff election, is a top target of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in a state that President Donald Trump narrowly carried last November.

“Republicans have a number of strong candidates who can build a winning coalition to add this seat to President Trump’s Senate Majority,” NRSC communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News in a statement.

There’s some speculation Kemp passed on running for U.S. Senate in 2026 to aim for the White House in 2028.

Per NBC News:

Kemp’s decision could spark a competitive GOP primary to take on Ossoff, who won his seat in a dramatic Jan. 5, 2021, runoff following the 2020 general election. Multiple members of Georgia’s congressional delegation — including Reps. Buddy Carter, Rich McCormick, Mike Collins and Marjorie Taylor Greene — have suggested they would consider a bid if Kemp did not run.

Greene, the far-right congresswoman, indicated to NBC News last week that she is considering a Senate run.

“I have just a lot of options open to me,” she said, without engaging on whether she is being encouraged to run or actively making calls about it.

“Not really discussing it at this time,” she said.

Among other statewide elected Republicans, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper posted on X in February that he met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Insurance Commissioner John King told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late last year that he would “take a hard look” at a Senate run — if Kemp stayed out.

Republicans expressed confidence that they were in a strong position to flip the seat, even without Kemp as their nominee.

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