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U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter made his first public appearance in Coastal Georgia as a U.S. Senate candidate on Monday, telling an audience of Republican women that he is the “MAGA warrior” best positioned to defeat Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff next year.
Carter urged the Golden Isles Republican Women’s Club to spread word of his candidacy — an apparent acknowledgement that statewide name recognition may be one of the six-term congressman’s biggest obstacles to winning to Republican bid to run against Ossoff.
“We need all the votes we can get. Please talk to the people you have throughout the state, a friend, a family member. We need their help. We need your help,” the six-term congressman from St. Simons told a luncheon audience of some 60 people gathered on the island.
To boost his name recognition across the state, Carter accompanied the announcement of his candidacy last week with the launch of a $2.3 million ad campaign, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, adding that the candidate “intends to commit at least eight figures to the race.” As for putting some of his own money into the campaign, the multimillionaire Carter told the Journal-Constitution, “We’re prepared to do what it takes.”
In his remarks Monday, Carter said that the Trump administration can boast of completing the most “consequential” 100 days of any presidential administration in U.S. history, including the imposition of tariffs on foreign-produced goods, the government-slashing activities of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and budget process in the U.S. House of Representatives.
It was long overdue, Carter said, for European car manufacturers selling cars in the U.S. to face the same cost burden as those faced by American car manufacturers seeking to sell their product in Europe.
“How many people been to Europe?” Carter asked. “You ever notice how many American cars you see on the European roads, and how many European cars you see on our roads?”
The 67-year-old Carter admitted that the administration’s roll-out of tariffs had not been smooth and that there was no immediate evidence of economic benefits from the levies, most of which are still on the drawing board or under negotiation, according to the White House.
“I know y’all seen the markets, and they’ve gone crazy,” he said. “And yes, I know it was tough. And the president told us it was going to be tough.”
As for Musk’s DOGE, Carter said that while there were instances of “overreach” by the department, it is “saving taxpayers billions of dollars,” by identifying waste, fraud and abuse. He did not specify the instances of overreach or where those savings had occurred.
As the House undertakes to produce what Trump has called a “big beautiful” budget bill, Carter said that continuing tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration before they lapse at the end of this year was crucial.
If those tax cuts expire, “88% of all Americans will see the highest tax increase they have ever seen,” he said.
Following the announcement by Gov. Brian Kemp last week that he would not challenge Ossoff in next year’s elections, Carter was the first Republican to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican Senate nomination.
He said Monday that he is “a man of faith” and decided to run for the nomination after “prayerful consideration.”
The state, he said, needs a Republican senator who will support Trump, whom Georgians voted “overwhelmingly” to office last year. Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris by 2.2% of the ballots cast in Georgia, or 115,100 votes.
Just as Republicans did in 2024, Carter is making the issue of trans women playing in women’s sports a campaign focus.
Ossoff, he said, showed himself out of sync with Georgia voters on the issue by voting earlier this year against a Republican-sponsored bill that would bar federally funded schools from allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports.
That resonated with Amy Abbott, 56, a mathematics instructor who attended Monday’s luncheon.
“He backs women only in sports and is getting Trump’s agenda,” she said.
Carter said he faces an “uphill battle” to win the Republican nomination in a field that could include a half-dozen candidates.
“It will be a long year.”
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