Dem
47
GOP
53
There is no person who has a higher opinion of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) than Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). That is not too unusual among politicians; they tend to have giant egos, and many of them believe 100% in their own branding (see Trump, Donald). So, it's not too big a surprise that when Greene looks in the mirror each morning, she sees Sen. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
After Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) took a pass on challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) next year, the path was theoretically open for Greene to shoot for a promotion. There were, however, two problems. The first is that while the Representative appears to be reasonably popular in her district, she's not well-liked by voters statewide. Of all the various Republicans who might plausibly run for the right to challenge Ossoff, including folks who are much less well known, like Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King, Greene polls the worst against Ossoff by a large margin, trailing the Senator by 11 to 17 points.
The second problem is that, because of the first problem, Republican pooh-bahs do not want her to run, and have reportedly signaled that if she tries it, she's on her own. That includes, supposedly, the general election, where the NRSC only has so much money to go around, and would prefer to spend it defending in-danger seats like the one in Maine, and not wasting it trying to tilt at Georgia windmills.
By all indications, Greene is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. However, she does possess a well-developed instinct for self-preservation. And so, she has read the writing on the wall (or, very possibly, had someone read it to her), and has decided that one looney-bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Late Friday, she announced that she won't enter the Senate race, and that she'll stay where she is.
That means that the Republicans' candidate for this seat will very likely be someone who has won statewide office, but is not especially well known nationally. The biggest name left, now that Kemp and Greene are out, is state Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, but the MAGA types don't like him because he locked horns with the Dear Leader in 2020. More plausible are King or maybe state AG Chris Carr. Besides Kemp, the person who actually polls best against Ossoff is Generic Republican, but thus far Generic Republican is keeping their cards close to the vest. (Z)