Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to pass a Senate bid has led senior Republican officials to scramble to find backup plans and avoid a split primary, or at least a split candidate.
Georgia Republican circles are growing concern that if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes a Republican candidate to accept Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, she could damage the party’s chances as her seven Republican sources are familiar with NBC News. Republicans see battlefield games as a key opportunity to expand their three majorities next year.
While Kemp's run will essentially end the main campaign, numerous potential candidates, including Green, are now considering the campaign, establishing a potential controversial nomination contest.
However, while Republicans want to be a crowded primary after Kemp, the party’s top picks choose to avoid the game, it has been said that if President Kemp and Donald Trump decide to choose their favorite person, they can still help win.
Georgia Republican strategists say the main thing about potential congestion is "focus". “But I also think that it’s very likely that the president and the governor end up on the same page and choose someone.”
Kemp, who is popular in Georgia, told supporters during a donor retreat Monday night that he still plans to participate in the competition, stay active on the campaign and support the final nominee.
There are also signs that Trump, Kemp and Senate Republican campaign departments may try to work together in the primary. Kemp noted on social media that he and Trump made a phone call on Monday, and his relationship with Trump was in trouble after Trump's failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Kemp said he had a "commitment" to work with Trump and Senate leaders to "make sure we have a Republican candidate who can win next November."
Still, unification is easier said than done in a candidate, and Trump (a history of dual composition, priority loyalists and doing it in his own way) may be unpredictable.
Already close to a dozen Republicans have expressed their interests or are considered potential contenders to run for Ossov, the only Democratic senator to run for the state Trump brought in November. (Democratic Senator Gary Peters also retired in Michigan, leaving an open seat.) Some Republicans say politically unknowns may also emerge from the private sector.
Meanwhile, Greene is giving some Republican heartburn when she is seriously considering running.
She told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that she "weighted my choice." "Police polls show that I can win the gubernatorial primary or I can win the senate primary, or I can continue to represent my district," she told the news agency Monday night after news announced by Kemp on Monday night. Later, she had no timeline to make a decision later.
Some Republicans argue that Greene - built a national character and heavy war chest as a determined Trump ally, but also has a history of promoting conspiracy theories and making controversial comments, too polarized for the average voter in the Purple Battlefield State.
"She can win the primary. She can't win the general election in Georgia," said Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist in Georgia.
Robinson later added: "That big personality - that fighter character - is an improvement base, attracting loyal and fans, while also alienating the middle and inspiring her enemies." Robinson suspected Green would run and pointed out that she had already played quite a bit of power in the house.
He said: "The president listens to her; the speaker listens to her. … She is very powerful in the house, with a national platform and a national name ID."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Rs., avoided the issue twice this week to show whether Green could win the election if she was the party's Senate nominee.
"We believe Georgia will be competitive," Thun said Tuesday. "I don't know who the Republican candidate is at this point, but as I said before, I'm encouraged that there are a lot of Republicans interested in Georgia, who are both current House members and some state-wide officials who are looking at the game carefully and we'll see everything shaking."
A national political agent working in a key Republican game said Green could be a “Carry Lake 2.0,” referring to the Arizona Republicans Trump loved for her Margma certificate, who were candidates for the party’s party’s failure in 2022 and last year’s Senate party.
Georgia Republicans also reported concerns that the prospect of "bloody" beginners could lead Greene as a Republican nominee. Despite Trump winning Georgia in November, more people in the state voted for Kamala Harris last year than for Joe Biden in 2020, when Biden won — a sign that it is not easy to beat the Senate seat, especially if Republicans choose candidates who can’t win the military and independents.
"I'm still ready to beat any challengers," Ossoff said on Monday.
He has been raising funds in the potential green sports for months. As of March 31, his campaign reported $11.1 million and he has begun amassing a huge campaign account.
Greene, who was her third term, was a powerful fundraising event in her own right, earning $8.9 million in the last election cycle when she re-electioned in her deep areas. Her House campaign raised $655,000 in the first fundraising area and raised $728,000 on hand for $728,000 that she can use in the Senate campaign.
Greene is one of several Georgia lawmakers who Kemp is not running for. A senior Republican aide described the looming elementary school as “all freedom.”
Republican Rep. Mike Collins, Buddy Carter and Rich McCormick confirmed to NBC News that they are considering running after Kemp announced on Monday.
“Never say never say it,” Collins said. “We will see who joins in this, who is behind the president and we will help him win.”
Carter said he would be willing to self-fund “some of the Senate” campaigns if he decided to run, saying, “I want to do what people want me to do, and what God does for me.”
McCormick said he would “discuss this” and “due diligence”, saying he might discuss his plans with Trump.
Republican Rep. Rick Allen also said he would delay Trump when asked if he weighed his run, saying: "If President Trump wants me to run, I will run. But I think it will be his decision."
The Georgia Republican’s name examines a number of other potential candidates, including Brian Jack, the first Rep., former Trump’s political affairs director, - despite some being close to him, he believes his gaze has been long-standing in the House. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, a former House member who failed to run for the Senate in 2020, is also known as a potential unification candidate. But, Georgia Republican strategists believe Collins is “unlikely” unless Trump asks himself.
Officials across multiple states may also be considering running, including insurance commissioner John King, agriculture commissioner Taylor Harper and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. And there are some politically unknown murmurs that may emerge from the private sector.
But the prospect of a competitive and bruised primary has made some Republicans hope to narrow the field. The more complicated thing is that if no one gets over 50% of the vote in the primary, it will go to runoff.
"I think the delegation will talk about that, too. We don't need the situation we're having when Saxby retires," Allen said. After Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss retired, referring to the 2014 Senate match, when three House members left Congress after unsuccessful seats.
Republican leaders have shown a willingness to compete in key Senate games. Thune and National Republican Senate Committee Chairman Tim Scott (RS.C.), quickly recognized former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers after he launched his campaign in Michigan.
However, it is unclear whether Senate leaders can do the same in Georgia, with so many officials hoping to run for the election.
“With a country like Georgia, it may not be a viable strategy,” a Republican strategist said of potential participation from Senate leaders. “But at this point in time, I just said it’s too early.”
When Republicans were in the primary, they were still confident that they could beat Ossoff in Georgia, Trump scored 2 points in November.
Even their “second-tier” candidates will eventually have the resources to launch a strong campaign as it is expected to be put into battleground states, said Robinson, a Republican strategist in Georgia.
"Of course, Kemp is the best shot," Robinson said. "But the second layer can be level one, and it's level one for $200 million."