ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King dropped out of the 2026 Republican race for the U.S. Senate Thursday, admitting that he likely wouldn't earn the nomination to face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, considered the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbent coming up for reelection.
“I got into the U.S. Senate race to beat Jon Ossoff, not distract from the mission. Right now it’s clear there’s little path forward to the nomination, so today I’m suspending my campaign,” King said in a statement.
Instead, King said he would run for reelection as state insurance commissioner next year, saying he would support efforts to help Republicans win “and back a Senate nominee who supports President Trump’s agenda.”
King left on the same day that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp called other Senate candidates to tell them he would be supporting former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley in a Republican run for the Senate post. Dooley's campaign hasn't launched yet, but in recent weeks he has hired two of Kemp's closest political aides, signaling that an announcement is imminent.
The news also brought an on-the record acknowledgment that U.S. Rep. Mike Collins will be joining the field, a plan Collins has repeatedly teased in recent days.
Kemp's support of Dooley hurt King
Kemp himself opted out of the Senate race this spring, depriving Republicans of their strongest possible candidate.
But he and Trump pledged after Kemp's exit that they would try to work together to anoint a favorite.
Kemp has long family ties to Dooley and his support for the son of University of Georgia coaching legend Vince Dooley has become clear in recent weeks. But Trump is still meeting with hopefuls and is expected by many to wait to weigh in until his team has fully screened them and assessed their chances and after his budget priorities make their way through Congress.
Kemp's support of Dooley proved fatal to the campaign of King, a man he plucked from obscurity in 2022 to appoint as insurance commissioner and Georgia's first Hispanic statewide officer.
King once looked like he would be Kemp’s backup plan if Kemp didn’t run for Senate himself. With a history as Mexican immigrant who rose from police officer and soldier to police chief and National Guard major general, his supporters hoped his biography would distinguish him.
But Kemp told his donors to hold off on making gifts, and King raised a little more than $500,000 through June 30, raising questions about whether he could find the resources to make the race.
Others are less likely to be scared off. A spokesperson for Collins confirmed that Kemp called Collins Thursday to tell Collins he would be supporting Dooley. Although Collins hasn’t yet officially announced his campaign, the spokesperson said Collins looked forward to being the nominee.
“Congressman Collins and the governor had a positive call,” the spokesperson said. “The Congressman reiterated to the governor he is focused on continuing to deliver on President Trump’s agenda and looks forward to the governor’s support after he wins the primary.”
Unknowns loom about Dooley
Former state Senator Eric Johnson, who is supporting U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, said King’s decision reflects how important money and high-profile backers are in politics, calling his decision to drop out “a casualty of the lack of ability to self-fund.”
“It will be interesting to see what the base Republican voter thinks about somebody trying to handpick their senator,” Johnson said, adding he is supporter of Kemp.
Carter is one candidate who can self-fund — of the $3.6 million his campaign raised through June 30, $2 million was a loan from the candidate. Carter has already spent $2.5 million, including television ads seeking to build support.
A spokesperson for Carter slammed Kemp's move to boost Dooley.
“Politicians don’t elect our Senators — the people of Georgia do," the spokesperson said in an email. “There’s only one candidate in this race who is a MAGA Warrior and only one who will take the fight to radical liberal Jon Ossoff.”
As a teenager, Kemp was a frequent guest in the Dooley home, and roomed with Derek’s older brother, Daniel Dooley, at the University of Georgia. Kemp has the most effective Republican political organization in Georgia, and Dooley has hired Kemp political aides to run his race, including political strategist Cody Hall and fundraiser Chelsey Ruppersburg. Since first publicly expressing interest in June, Dooley has also met with top Republicans in Washington.
But opponents are already lampooning Dooley for failing to publicly support Trump or other Republicans before now. Someone launched an anonymous University of Tennessee-themed website called “Dooley’s Volunteers” that criticizes Dooley for a lack of conservative credentials, interspersed with quotes from sports reporters panning Dooley’s coaching tenure.
Kemp and Trump hoped to work together to avoid the conflict that plagued Kelly Loeffler’s unsuccessful run before she lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a 2021 runoff. That, along with Sen. Perdue’s loss to Ossoff on the same day, handed control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats. Trump had preferred Collins, while Kemp backed Loeffler.
Then in 2022, Trump anointed Georgia football legend Herschel Walker as the Republican nominee. Walker’s candidacy proved flawed, and Kemp only swung in to help in the runoff, which Warnock won.
Their effort to jointly screen 2026 candidates produced some results — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declined a Senate run after pressure from other Republicans.
