This story was updated on Thursday, July 24 at 6:45 p.m.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King dropped out of the 2026 Republican race for the U.S. Senate Thursday, admitting that he likely wouldn’t earn the nomination to face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, considered the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbent coming up for reelection.
King quit hours after Republican Gov. Brian Kemp informed King and other Senate candidates that he would be supporting former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley in a Republican run for the Senate post. Dooley’s campaign hasn’t launched yet, but in recent weeks he has hired two of Kemp’s closest political aides, signaling an announcement is imminent.
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