Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King is dropped out of the
race for a U.S. Senate seat after meeting with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Multiple news outlets reported that King, a Republican in the commissioner’s job since 2019, has suspended h
is campaign to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. John Ossoff. Kemp reported told King that he is supporting Derek D
ooley, a former college football coach and son of famous University of Georgia coach Vince Dooley, the Associated Press
, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other news sources reported.
Dooley's campaign hasn't launched yet, but in recent weeks he h
as hired two of Kemp’s closest political aids, signaling an announcement is imminent, AP wrote.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is also in the running, and Thursday’s news brought a public
acknowledge that U.S. Rep. Mike Collins will be joining the field, a plan Collins has hinted at in recent days.
King said he would run for reelection as state insurance commissioner next year, saying he would support e
fforts to help Republicans win “and back a Senate nominee who supports President Trump’s agenda,” the AP reported.
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King (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
“I got into the U.S. Senate race to beat Jon Ossoff, not distract from the mission. Right now, it’s clear there’s little path fo
rward to the nomination, so today I'm suspending my campaign,” King said in a statement.
Kemp had put King, a former police chief and military officer, on the stage in 2019 when he appointed King t
o replace Jim Beck, who was convicted of defrauding a homeowners’ insurance association he worked for. King wa
s then elected commissioner in 2022, defeating a Donald Trump-endorsed Republican and a Democratic insurance agent.
King once looked like he would be Kemp’s backup plan if Kemp didn’t run for Senate himself. A Mexican immigrant who rose from police officer and soldier to
police chief and National Guard major general, his supporters responded his biography would distinguish him.
But Kemp told his donors to hold off on making gifts, the AP repo
rted, and King raised only about $500,000 through June 30, raising questions about whether he could pay for the race.