Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is planning a White House sitdown with President Trump in the coming weeks to get on the same page for supporting the best Republican candidate in the swing state’s 2026 Senate race, sources tell us.
Why it matters: Neither Trump nor Kemp wants a repeat of 2020, when their very public feud — which finally ended last year — was followed by the GOP losing both its Georgia Senate seats.
- “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 Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
- 💨 One poll conducted by a Republican group shows MTG getting “smoked,” said a 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.
Zoom in: 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
- SBA administrator and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler
- Rep. Mike Collins
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.”
The bottom line: 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 Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock was elected to a full Senate term after winning a partial one in 2021.
- “Whoever we pick has to be able to win Kemp-Warnock voters and the Buckhead wine moms,” the Georgia Republican strategist said.
