GOP worries this polarizing figure may run for one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable Senate seats

There are at least a half-dozen Republicans seriously considering a U.S. Senate run now that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has said he won’t challenge Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

But only one name has GOP leaders in both Georgia and Washington on edge.

Ever since U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the “Politically Georgia” podcast in February that she’d consider a bid if Kemp passed, nervous Republicans have been bracing for the fallout. Now that prospect feels a whole lot more real.

“Ossoff just became the luckiest politician in America. And now he wants MTG to run and guarantee he gets even luckier,” said Jay Morgan, a former Georgia GOP executive director, who added: “She’s smart enough not to be played by Ossoff.”

Greene’s shock-and-awe style has made her one of the most recognized GOP figures in the nation, helped her build an extensive fundraising network and given her newfound clout in the Republican-controlled U.S. House.

But her history of hateful and polarizing statements, her incendiary burn-it-down approach and her lockstep alliance with President Donald Trump could alienate independent voters and disillusioned Republicans.

The most recent AJC poll showed the limits of her appeal. Ossoff led her by 17 points in a hypothetical matchup, due partly by her weak showing among independents. She drew support from just 25% of them. Kemp, by contrast, carried 46% of that bloc.

Kemp’s allies are just as squeamish about a Greene bid. Republicans are still haunted by the ghosts of 2022, when a vulnerable-seeming U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock fended off Republican Herschel Walker’s disastrous bid.

“It’s possible that Greene could win a Republican primary,” said Republican consultant Mark Rountree. “But it’s unlikely she could win a general election, and conservatives would once again have blown an opportunity to defeat Democrats in Georgia.”

Key Democrats are goading Greene to run. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that the GOP was “stuck” with Greene as the party’s champion. Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey called her a “wannabe senator.”

“MTG and her band of hopefuls will have to answer for a tanking economy fueled by tariffs, brutal federal layoffs hitting seniors, vets, and kids and slashing Medicare and Medicaid,” he said.

Greene, meanwhile, is playing by her own rules.

“The polling shows that I can win the governor’s primary or the Senate primary or continue to represent my district,” she told NewsNation last night. “That’s a choice that I can make. And I’ll give it some thought.”

The Associated Press reported that the election is likely to be closely contested and fantastically expensive.

“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,” AP reported.