SAVANNAH, Ga. () – Rep. Buddy Carter announced Thursday he will be running for a senate seat in Georgia in 2026.

Rep. Carter is currently serving Georgia’s 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives, a role he has held since 2015.

Carter’s announcement came after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced on May 5 that he would not run.

Rep. Carter is the first Republican to throw his name into the race. He announced his intention to run with a video ad posted to social media, calling himself a “MAGA Warrior.”

“It’s an exciting day. It’s an exciting day for me personally, and I hope it’s an exciting day for the people of GA,” he said.

In the upcoming race, Rep. Carter will face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has his position since January of 2021.

“The voters have rejected that [Republicans] from the past senate races. Now, you’re going into that cycle coming next year. That hasn’t proven to be a winning strategy,” Communications Chair for Georgia’s Democratic Party of Chatham County Orlando Scott said.

While Carter has aligned himself with Trump, Ossoff, as well as the other Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, are both democrats.

“Every statewide elected official in Georgia is republican except for these two senators. They’re both democrats, and I would submit to you that’s an anomaly,” Carter said.

At home, Carter has been facing opposition for several weeks, with a series of ongoing protests held outside his offices.

Most demonstrators have been calling for one thing: an in-person town hall.

“He hasn’t had an in-person town hall since 2017. Now, he wants a promotion to cover the state of Georgia,” Scott said. “People want answers. People want to speak to their representative. People want to touch their representatives and for them to have a listening ear. Congressman Carter hasn’t done that”

When asked whether he would host an in-person town hall in the future, Carter said, “I’m sure that we will have plenty of tele-town halls. I’m sure that we will have plenty of debates during the campaign, and I welcome that. The people will have the opportunity to voice their concerns.”

Carter is now in his fifth term representing Georgia’s first district. Before being elected to the U.S. House, he previously served as the mayor of Pooler and in the Georgia General Assembly.

Carter is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee.