Republican star – no matter how much I don’t like his refusal to recuse back in his first run for governor against Stacey Abrams (D-GA) – and Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) is out of the running:
Governor Brian Kemp (R) just formally announced he’s not going to run for Senate next year against Senator Jon Ossoff (D). It’s difficult to convey how big a coup this is for Democrats and how big a setback it is for Republicans for the 2026 midterms. Candidate choice is always important but seldom decisive. This is an exception. Ossoff was (and is) a favorite against everyone but Kemp. [Josh Marshall, TPM]
And it’s voluntary. I agreed with Mr Marshall, above – only Kemp could give Senator Ossoff (D-GA) a real contest, and Governor Kemp is signaling that, in a year and a half, he doesn’t think he can beat the Senator.
Now, Marshall thinks Kemp has Presidential ambitions, and he might. But getting a Senator’s seat builds momentum – but losing such a race could destroy Kemp’s chances in a Presidential race. No one likes a loser, which explains why then- and now- President Trump ran around screaming about Democratic cheating in 2020. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t accept being a loser, but it also endangered his chances of re-attaining the Presidency.
And winning back the legal sanctuary of the Presidency.
In any case, if Kemp foresees disaster in a friendly, conservative-if-purple State, well, it could make next year’s election very interesting for the balance of the Senatorial races.
