2026 races loom at Georgia Republican convention as Trump loyalty dominates

DALTON Ga AP Steve Bannon took the stage Friday night at the Georgia Republican Convention to say it s too early to be talking about Don t even think about the midterms the Republican strategist communicated activists Not right now we ll think about it later It s backing President Trump right now But it didn t work There was plenty of praise for Donald Trump And while the party took care of other business like electing officers and adopting a platform the races for governor and Senate were already on the minds of several on Friday and Saturday in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton Everybody campaigns as quick as they can U S Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene informed The Associated Press Saturday Lots of other people presented up sounding like candidates Greene after passing on a U S Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff laid out a slate of state-level issues on Saturday that will likely fuel speculation that she might run for governor Echoing Trump s signature slogan Greene recounted the convention to Make Georgia great again for Georgia She called for abolishing the state income tax infusing classical principles into Georgia s masses schools reopening mental hospitals to take mentally ill people off the streets and changing Georgia s economic incentive plan to de-emphasize tax breaks for foreign companies and television and moviemakers Now these are state-level issues but I want you to be talking about them Greene disclosed In her AP interview before the speech Greene mentioned running for governor is an option but also revealed she has a wonderful blessing of serving her northwest Georgia district and exercising influence in Washington Pretty much every single primary poll shows that I am the top leader easily and that gives me the ability to think about it But it s a choice It s my own that I will talk about with my family More likely to run for governor is Lt Gov Burt Jones who is expected to announce a bid later this summer I promise you I m going to be involved in this upcoming electoral contest cycle Jones reported delegates Friday Like Greene Jones is among the Georgia Republicans closest to Trump and emphasized that the circle is small of prominent Republicans who stood by the president after the vote Jones also took a veiled shot at state Attorney General Chris Carr who declared his bid for governor in December and proved up Friday to work the crowd but did not deliver a speech to the convention Unfailingly remember who evidenced up for you Jones explained And inevitably remember who delivers on their promises Carr reported the AP that he didn t speak because he was instead attending a campaign event at a restaurant in Dalton on Friday emphasizing the importance of building personal relationships Although Trump targeted him for defeat in the primary Carr commented he s confident that Republicans will patronage him calling himself a proud Kemp Republican and saying he would focus on bread-and-butter issues This state s been built on agriculture manufacturing transaction the military citizens safety Carr disclosed These are the issues that Georgians care about The easiest applause line all weekend was pledging to help beat Ossoff Jon Ossoff should not be in office at all declared U S Rep Buddy Carter who is spending heavily on television advertising to sponsorship his Senate run Folks President Trump necessities backup he demands backup in the Senate explained state Insurance Commissioner John King who is also running for the Senate He s going to need a four-year majority to get the job done And that starts right here in the state of Georgia Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley who expressed interest Friday in running for Senate did not address delegates But one other feasible candidate U S Rep Mike Collins did Collins informed delegates that in it was a priority to defeat Ossoff and replace him with a solid conservative It s not clear though if Collins himself will run We re going to see how this thing plays out Collins notified the AP I m not burning to be a senator but we ve got to take this seat back Source