Republicans have a real chance to flip the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia currently held by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, though we will not be seeing a race between Ossoff and Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). On Monday, Kemp revealed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will not be running. POLITICO had also been reporting on the matter, citing "three people familiar with his decision."
Kemp was seen as perhaps the best choice to defeat Ossoff, who is regarded as a particular target for the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC). Despite how President Donald Trump won Georgia in 2016 and 2024, doing so by 2.2 percentage points last November, and how it took Ossoff a runoff to win his seat in 2020 against then Republican Sen. David Perdue, the vulnerable Democratic incumbent is not exactly serving as a moderate.
The NRSC has called out Ossoff for supporting radical Democratic policies, such as men and boys competing in women and girls' supports, and for refusing to support the continuing resolution (CR) that passed in March so as to avoid a government shutdown. Ossoff even fundraised off of his opposition to the CR, earning him an ethics complaint.
Ossoff also supports impeaching the president, as well as Democrats gaining back the majority in the House, as he revealed to an unhinged attendee at a town hall event late last month.
If Kemp had decided to run, what polls were in place thus far for such a hypothetical matchup showed a close race, and one where Ossoff was potentially in trouble. Georgia Democrats, such as state Rep. Esther Panitch, have even spoken about potentially supporting Kemp over Ossoff, if Kemp were the Republican nominee.
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"Brian Kemp" has been trending over X when it comes to such news, with there being chatter about the news being a "huge blow" for the NRSC during a midterm election year. The NRSC remains confident about flipping Ossoff's seat, however. "While Jon Ossoff is running to impeach President Trump, 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 Townhall in a statement.
A huge blow to the GOP after Thune and Scott flew down to ATL, Ricketts and Daines spoke with him. Even Trump spoke to him back in Feb about a run.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 5, 2025
Now, it could open up a messy primary with Buddy Carter expected to run and others like MTG weighing it.https://t.co/QD8s8fdEJD https://t.co/h1Fn3avGvX
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