Overview
- Kemp, in an interview published Tuesday, said the GOP faces a tough midterm with a Republican president and urged candidates to stay focused on voter priorities.
- He has ruled out running for the U.S. Senate in 2026 and brushed off talk of a 2028 presidential bid to keep attention on this year’s races.
- The governor endorsed former Georgia football coach Derek Dooley for Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat and said he is pressing President Donald Trump to back Dooley to avoid a fractured primary.
- Polling cited by the Washington Examiner shows Dooley trailing Rep. Mike Collins and Rep. Buddy Carter ahead of Georgia’s May 19 Republican primary, while the Cook Political Report currently favors Ossoff in November.
- Kemp pointed to Democrats overperforming in recent Georgia special elections, including a narrower-than-usual margin in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former district, as a warning sign for Republicans.