ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter on Thursday became the first Republican to jump into the race to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, as other hopefuls maneuver following Gov. Brian Kemp's announcement that he won't seek the seat.
Carter, who has long had his eye on statewide office, released a video ad proclaiming that President Donald Trump "has a warrior in Buddy Carter" and attacking Ossoff.
At least six other Georgia Republicans have said they're considering a run for Senate. Best known among them is U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Also included are two other Georgia Republicans in Congress — Mike Collins and Rich McCormick. Other potential candidates include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, state Insurance Commissioner John King and state Sen. Greg Dolezal.
Though not well-known statewide, Carter has been a political fixture along Georgia's coast for nearly three decades. The 67-year-old pharmacist served as mayor of Pooler just outside Savannah and was a lawmaker in the state House and Senate before being elected to Congress in 2014.
Eric Johnson, who served as the top Republican in the Georgia Senate before making an unsuccessful run for governor in 2010, said he’s backing Carter.
“He’s known for good constituent service, and he’s accessible and visible, some of the things other candidates overlook,” said Johnson, a retired architect who lives in Effingham County west of Savannah.
He said Carter should also have plenty of money, which he’ll need to increase his name-recognition across Georgia’s 159 counties. As of March 31, Carter reported having nearly $3.5 million cash on hand to defend his House seat next fall. He could transfer that money to kickstart a Senate race.
Any Republican primary will not only be a race for voters, but for Trump's endorsement. Whoever gets the Trump nod would be stamped as the frontrunner, and an early endorsement could push others away from the race.
Known for touting bipartisan legislative efforts, particularly around prescription drugs, Carter has sought to move closer to Trump.
Carter cast himself as a “MAGA Warrior” in Thursday's announcement. In February, he introduced a House bill that would authorize Trump to acquire Greenland and rename it “Red, White and Blueland.”
Carter was more circumspect about Trump when he first entered the White House. At a 2017 town hall in Savannah, Carter told constituents that “I am not here to tell you Donald Trump is perfect.” He added: “God has used imperfect people to do great things.”
No serious Democratic challengers have emerged to Ossoff, who launched his reelection campaign in March with sharp attacks on Trump. But Ossoff also says he'll work with Trump to help Georgia and says working with Republicans is the best way to get things done in Washington.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in a statement Thursday accused Carter of supporting a “toxic agenda” and said it's confident Ossoff will win reelection next year.
National Republicans have already been advertising against Ossoff’s opposition to a bill barring schools from allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. Ossoff calls that an obsession most voters don’t share. They’ve also attacked Ossoff for saying in a town hall two weeks ago that he believed Trump had committed impeachable offenses in his second term.
Like the earlier national Republican ad, Carter on Thursday targeted Ossoff on transgender women in women's sports.
“He fought against President Trump securing our border and voted for men in girls' sports. Jon Ossoff is on the wrong side.”
Any race will be expensive. Ossoff raised more than $11 million just in the first three months of 2025. The twin Senate races in 2020, when Ossoff and Raphael Warnock narrowly won and flipped control of the body to Democrats, cost more than $900 million combined, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Warnock’s 2022 reelection over Republican Herschel Walker cost more than $470 million, OpenSecrets found.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
FILE - Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., speaks before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks on the tax code, and manufacturing at the Johnny Mercer Theatre Civic Center, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
