Congressman Buddy Carter becomes the first Georgia Republican to enter the 2026 Senate race
In his first campaign ad, Carter took aim at incumbent Jon Ossoff and described himself as a "MAGA warrior."
Congressman Carter on Capitol Hill/ Gage Skidmore.
Buddy Carter became the first Republican from Georgia to enter the Senate race heading into 2026. Following Governor Brian Kemp's step aside and growing speculation of a potential run by Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congressman led the rest and confirmed his candidacy.
Republicans will have to defend their Senate majority in the midterm elections. Without leaving aside the defensive strategy, three Democratic seats—Michigan, New Hampshire and Georgia—also look like opportunities to add more senators.
Carter opened the Republican primaries with a message very close to President Donald Trump. He even posted photos with Trump on his profile and X cover.
"I’m running for U.S. Senate. Georgians will have a very simple choice in 2026: do you want a MAGA warrior for you or do you want a trans warrior for they/them? I’m with you. You can guess where Jon Ossoff is. Game on," he wrote on X, adding his first campaign ad.
The ad focuses on attacking incumbent Ossoff, remarking on his opposition to Trump's policies. It ends with Carter himself on screen and a gravelly voiceover enunciating the following: "A MAGA warrior, Buddy Carter for Senate."
Carter is a 67-year-old pharmacist with the availability and eagerness to spend his own fortune on the race, given that he has been preparing a run since 2021, when he had every intention of challenging incumbent Raphael Warnock. He missed the boat when Trump endorsed Herschel Walker early in the race.
He served as a representative and senator in the state Legislature and then made the leap to national politics in 2014, when he was elected to the House of Representatives for Georgia's 1st Congressional District.
As for his style, Politically Georgia explained that "he earned a reputation as a constituent-focused representative with a special talent for retail politics." He also has a very good relationship with donors and supporters of the MAGA movement within the Republican Party.
On his specific legislative activity, he has focused primarily on health policy, writing legislation that would, for example, set limits on the prices that pharmacy benefit managers can charge pharmacies.
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