Marjorie Taylor Greene declines to challenge Jon Ossoff in Georgia
Senate race
[May 10, 2025]
By JEFF AMY and JONATHAN J. COOPER
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday she won't
challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia in next year's midterms,
delivering relief for some Republicans who worry she’s too divisive to
win.
In a lengthy post on the social media platform X, Greene disputed GOP
donors and consultants who fear she would turn off the moderate
Republicans and independents needed to beat Ossoff. But Greene said she
doesn't want to serve in a Senate that “doesn't work" and that she said
is dominated by lawmakers hostile to grassroots Trump supporters and
unwilling to shake up the status quo.
“If I’m going to fight for a team, it will only be a team willing to lay
it all on the line to save this country,” she wrote.
Ossoff, a first-term senator, won the seat by a slim margin in a state
that has historically been a Republican stronghold but has more recently
become a battleground. He is a top target for Republicans looking to
expand their narrow Senate majority.
Popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who could be a formidable opponent
for Ossoff, opted out of the 2026 race on Monday. His decision leaves a
wide-open race for the GOP nomination.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents a district on the Georgia coast,
became the first major Republican candidate to declare Thursday.
Six other GOP officeholders besides Greene have acknowledged interest in
running to The Associated Press. They include two other Republicans in
the U.S. House, Mike Collins and Rich McCormick. Also considering the
race are Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, state Agriculture
Commissioner Tyler Harper, state Insurance Commissioner John King and
state Sen. Greg Dolezal.
“I expect a competitive primary — Senate seats don’t come along that
often,” said Eric Tanenblatt, a top national GOP fundraiser and Kemp
ally who has backed Trump’s rivals in presidential primaries.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., arrives for a National Day of
Prayer event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, May 1,
2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Greene is nationally known and a prolific fundraiser, but she has
embraced conspiracy theories and feuded with members of her own
party. On Thursday, she noted to reporters that she has more than 11
million social media followers, saying that’s because people know
where she stands.
Greene's appeal would be clear in a GOP primary with many voters
fiercely loyal to the president. Her decision not to run came a day
after she told reporters she was considering it.
“I’m going to give it some thought, talk to my family. I’m honored
to have so much support from the great people of Georgia. And I have
options," she said Thursday.
Greene was first elected to the House in 2020. She initially planned
to run in a competitive district in northern Atlanta’s suburbs, but
relocated into the much more conservative 14th District in Georgia’s
northwest corner.
Greene continued to embrace conspiracies even after 11 House
Republicans joined Democrats to remove her committee assignments in
February 2021. She embraced people jailed on charges following the
Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as political prisoners, part
of her campaign to reframe the narrative of the attack and cast
Democrats, not Republicans, as a party of violence.
She was welcomed back into the mainstream of the Republican
conference by Kevin McCarthy, who forged an alliance with her. But
Greene kept feuding with Republicans and Democrats alike. The House
Freedom Caucus expelled Greene in 2023.
___
Cooper repoted from Phoenix.
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