Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Friday evening that she will not challenge incumbent Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff in the 2026 midterms, while insisting she would have won both the GOP primary and the general election.
Greene, a close ally of President Donald Trump, posted a lengthy statement on X explaining why she opted out of the Senate race after previous reports indicated she was considering launching a bid. The lawmaker cited party âelitesâ who she claimed were standing in the way of Trumpâs agenda and conspiring to âcarefully selectâ a more establishment-friendly GOP candidate as her main reason for passing on the contest.
âNow, theyâre trying to carefully select someone who can dress up in MAGA just enough to trick the grassroots into thinking theyâre one of us â someone who wonât dare challenge the Republican establishment or disrupt the status quo that has failed the people time and time again,â Greene wrote on X. âThese are the Republicans who see Trump as a speed bump, one they believe they can carefully roll over now that he wonât be on the ballot again.â
âEven with a few good Republicans in the Senate, nothing changes,â Greene continued. âSo no, Jon Ossoff isnât the real problem. Heâs just a vote. A pawn. No different than the Uniparty Republicans who skip key votes to attend fundraisers and let our agenda fail. Someone once said, âThe Senate is where good ideas go to die.â They were right. Thatâs why Iâm not running. I wonât fight for a team that refuses to win, that protects its weakest players, and that undermines the very people itâs supposed to serve.â
Though Greene was publicly supportive of Kemp jumping into the Senate race, the term-limited governor announced on May 5 that he would not run.
Greene believed that she would trounce potential GOP opponents in a contested primary given her statewide name recognition, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. The congresswoman had boasted that she had a clear path to the nomination following Kempâs decision to not jump into the race.
âThe polling shows I can win the governorâs primary or I can win the Senate primary,â Greene told NewsNationâs âThe Hillâ on Tuesday. âThatâs a choice that I can make, and Iâll give it some thought.â
Greeneâs decision to pass on a run is likely a sigh of relief to Republican operatives who fretted about her chances of winning a general election against Ossoff, who is widelyviewed as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat running for reelection in 2026.
The one-term Democratic incumbent led Greene by 17 points in a hypothetical matchup, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released in May.
Ossoffâs campaign frequently sent fundraising emails to supporters warning about Greene jumping into the race.
âith MTG now one step closer to the Senate, the stakes couldnât be clearer,â an Ossoff campaign email published Wednesday said. âDonate $10 or more to help stop Marjorie Taylor Greene.â
Amid Greene removing herself from contention, up to a dozen Republican candidates are eyeing potential bids, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Republican Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter announced his candidacy Thursday, declaring himself a âMAGA warrior.â
Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins is viewed as the early favorite who could garner support from both base voters and independents, according to Axiosâ reporting.
âStart trying to raise money off one of these other generic Republicans, though I expect your donations will drop,â Greene said at the end of her statement. âGood luck.â
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