Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene won’t run for governor in 2026

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Tuesday that she won’t run for governor in Georgia in 2026, putting an end to her flirtation with the race in a long social media post saying she was turned off by a political “good ole boy” system and alleging that it was endangering Republican control of the state.

Greene chose earlier not to run for Senate under pressure from Republicans who feared she would hand a second term to Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. But she told reporters she might instead run for governor during a June appearance at the Georgia Republican Party convention in Dalton, where she wore a “Make Georgia Great Again” hat and discussing state issues.

Greene said she would focus on the northwest Georgia congressional seat that she has held since 2020 but left open the door for a future run.

“One day, I might just without the blessing from the good ole boys club or the out-of-state consulting leeches or even without the blessing of my favorite president,” Greene wrote. “One day, I might just run purely out of the blessing of the wonderful people of Georgia, my family and friends, but it won’t be in 2026.

Gov. Brian Kemp is ineligible to run again due to term limits, but other Republicans are already in the race, including Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger hasn’t ruled out a run.

Leading Democratic candidates for the office are state Sen. Jason Esteves and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Others in the field include state Rep. Derrick Jackson and Atlanta pastor Olu Brown.

Republicans have held the governorship since 2002, and Greene has said repeatedly that she believes she would win.

“I am humbled and grateful by the massive statewide support that I have to run for governor, and if I wanted to run, we all know I would win,” she wrote Tuesday. “It’s not even debatable.”

But Greene was the only winning Republican congressional candidate in Georgia to carry a smaller share of votes in her district than Trump in the 2024 election, an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found.

In her social media post, she alleged that a “very established ‘Men Only’ Republican firm is unfortunately overseeing the slow slide from red to blue” and that self interest is blocking the GOP from addressing real issues.

“As a woman, none of this appeals to me. As a mother, none of this appeals to me. As a lifelong Georgian and business owner, none of this appeals to me,” she said, adding that “a lot women” agree.