Scoop: Kemp plans secret White House sortie for Georgia Senate pick
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp prepare to meet with those affected by Hurricane Helene in Evans, Ga., in October 2024. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is planning a White House sitdown with President Trump to get on the same page for supporting the best Republican candidate in the swing state's 2026 Senate race, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: The race for the seat, held by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, will be one of the nation's most competitive and most expensive because it's one of the best pickup opportunities for the GOP in a Trump-won state.
- Republicans only have a three-seat advantage in the 100-member U.S. Senate.
The big picture: Kemp and Trump had a falling out in 2020 —after which the GOP lost both of its Peach State Senate seats — and only made peace last year. Neither wants a repeat. So Kemp in the coming weeks is planning to fly up to meet the president to get on the same page.
- "The president, like the governor, wants someone who can win," said a White House adviser.
The intrigue: In both the White House and the governor's mansion, there's concern with polling that shows firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene would win a Republican primary but lose to Ossoff. One poll conducted by a Republican group shows her getting "smoked," said one person who had reviewed the numbers.
- "The president loves MTG. He doesn't love her chances in a general," the Trump adviser said.
- Greene has not ruled out a race, but those familiar with her thinking say she's aware of the perception that she could not win a general election. They also note she's a more savvy operator than publicly perceived and knows how to read a poll.
🔫 The race unofficially began Thursday morning when Republican Rep. Buddy Carter — who has been eyeing a Senate bid for years, according to someone who has spoken to him — announced his bid for the office. Trump and Kemp insiders say Carter's not a preferred candidate.
Three names have been in circulation the most in the White House and this weekend at the governor's Sea Island retreat on the Georgia coast:
- Rep. Brian Jack. A longtime Trump adviser, Jack won his congressional seat last year and has signaled that he'd prefer to keep it. Many see him as being on the leadership track, and he could run the National Republican Congressional Committee next cycle. But if Trump demands he run, he'll likely do it.
- Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler. A former senator who lost her race in 2021 to Sen. Raphael Warnock, Loeffler is another Trump favorite because she knows what the job entails and she has run statewide before. But an adviser said she would prefer to run for governor.
- Rep. Mike Collins. He has been a Trump supporter since 2016 and sponsored the Laken Riley Act, cracking down on undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes. It was the first act Trump signed into law this year. Collins has been traveling outside his district to drum up support and hosted a political event this past weekend that drew hundreds of people.
- Other potential GOP candidates include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (a Trump foe), state Insurance Commissioner John King and Rep. Rich McCormick. Kemp may also advocate for a state legislator.
The early default favorite is Collins:
- "He lines up on the Venn diagram," said a top Georgia Republican strategist. "He's at every [Trump] rally. He's a trucker, so he has a blue-collar business background and would be the firebrand, workhorse candidate."
Zoom in: Kemp, who declined to run for Senate, is keenly focused on making sure his party fields a strong top-of-the-ticket candidate so that it makes it easier for Republican state legislators to win their races down ballot.
- The GOP has a 10-seat majority in the state House, but seven of those seats are held by Republicans in districts Trump lost or he only won by a single point.
- "If we have a candidate who loses by more than 6 points statewide, it can drag everyone down and we lose the House," said a Republican who has discussed the dynamics and upcoming White House trip with Kemp.
Zoom out: There's a keen awareness in Kemp's orbit of the need to balance conservatism with pragmatic electability, which helped Kemp win his 2022 reelection at the same time Warnock was elected to a full Senate term.
- "Whoever the nominee is has to be able to win Kemp-Warnock voters and the Buckhead wine moms," the Georgia Republican strategist said.
- This should be obvious to people, but you can't slap an R next to your name and win statewide anymore against an incumbent. You have to be a good candidate, raise money, tell a story and establish a brand that is more Georgia Republican than D.C. Republican."
