Republican John King dropped his U.S. Senate bid Thursday and says he will instead seek another term as Georgia’s insurance commissioner.
King announced his decision with a social media post at a time when other high-profile Republicans, like former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, are increasingly seen as likely entrants in the race.
“I got into the U.S. Senate race to beat Jon Ossoff, not distract from the mission,” King said in a statement. “Right now it’s clear there’s little path forward to the nomination, so today I’m suspending my campaign.”
King recently reported raising $518,000 to fuel his campaign, lagging behind Republican Congressman Buddy Carter’s $3.5 million haul. Ossoff, meanwhile, reported raising more than $41 million in the most recent quarter.
King was originally appointed to the seat in 2019 by Gov. Brian Kemp, who heralded King at the time as the first Hispanic constitutional officer to serve statewide. He was elected to the office in 2022 after defeating a Trump-endorsed candidate in the GOP primary.
“I’m going to do everything I can to keep Georgia’s state offices red and back a Senate nominee who supports President Trump’s agenda,” King said in the statement exiting the Senate race.
King launched his Senate campaign in May. Ossoff, who flipped the seat in 2020, is the only Democratic senator up for re-election in a state won by President Donald Trump in 2024. Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia last year by about 115,000 votes.
Party leaders, particularly Kemp and Trump, have reportedly been working behind the scenes to identify a candidate who can unify a splintered Republican party. No candidate has publicly emerged yet from those talks.
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