House GOP firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene says she won't run for Georgia Senate seat
WASHINGTON—Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia won’t challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s midterms, the firebrand conservative said in a social media post.
That’s likely a relief for Republicans who have expressed concerns that Greene is too divisive to win the seat, Greene said in a lengthy post on X on Friday.
But Greene disputed that, accusing political “elites” in Georgia and Washington, D.C. of looking for a more middle of the road candidate than one who is willing to fight for President Donald Trump and his MAGA political base.
“And I’ll be blunt: the elites don’t speak for the people of Georgia who would walk through fire for President Trump,” Greene said. “The political consultants embedded in the White House don’t know Georgia like I do.”
Greene added that she doesn’t want to serve in a Senate that’s unwilling to shake up the status quo and support President Donald Trump’s agenda and grassroots supporters.
“I won’t fight for a team that refuses to win, that protects its weakest players, and that undermines the very people it’s supposed to serve,” Greene wrote.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Georgia, became the first GOP challenger to Ossoff on May 8 in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle.
In his debut ad, the six-term Republican billed himself as a "MAGA warrior" who has "helped Trump secure our border" and who "knows the difference between a man and a woman," referencing Ossoff's vote against a Republican-led bill to bar transgender athletes from playing in women's sports.
Carter has been laying the groundwork for a Senate run for years and said he would run if the state's popular Republican governor, Brian Kemp, decided not to do so. Kemp announced he wouldn't run on May 5, boosting Ossoff's chances.
Georgia's Senate seat is one of two "toss-up" races in the 2026 Senate map, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The other is the open Michigan Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan.
In order to win back the chamber, Democrats would have to retain all 13 Senate seats they currently hold and win an additional four seats held by Republicans. That will be a challenge, as most Republican senators running for reelection in 2026 are from solidly red states.
Carter is a former pharmacist who represents the Savannah area. He has served in the House since 2015.
Contributing: Riley Beggin