ATLANTA — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced this week that he is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Georgia.
This makes him the first gubernatorial candidate to do so, and he’s jumping in early.
The gubernatorial election in Georgia isn’t until Nov. 3, 2026. The announcement didn’t come as a big surprise, but the timing did, nearly 18 months before the primary.
“I’m running to create jobs for hardworking Georgians, keep our families and our neighborhoods safe and vigorously defend our constitution and freedoms,” Carr said in his announcement.
No other candidate has announced, Republican or Democrat, though the Democrats were quick to weigh in.
“Georgians have already endured eight years of this failed leadership, and we’re looking forward to rejecting it in 2026 in favor of a strong Democratic governor,” Georgia Democrats said in a statement.
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Channel 2′s Richard Elliot asked a couple of political experts the pros and cons of announcing his run so early.
Longtime political strategist Fred Hicks thinks Carr made the right decision after his potential Republican rivals, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, got a lot of publicity during the election.
But there’s a risk. Hicks said he has to show his ability to raise money by the end of the year reporting period or else.
“If you do not have a strong disclosure out of the box, then that can tank your campaign right away. So this decision does have a little bit of risk for Chris Carr,” Hicks said.
Longtime University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock agrees and told Elliot if Carr puts up big fundraising numbers, it could keep other potential candidates out.
“If he were to come in and report, oh, extraordinary amounts of money raised here in five or six weeks that might even dissuade some people from even thinking about running. They’d say he’s already got, you know, quite a war chest and I’m not sure I can match it,” Bullock said.
Bullock points out that if the expected candidates run, that could leave their current positions open, so more people might run for them, opening up more spots in the legislature.
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