Attorney General Chris Carr talks about running for governor

I sat down recently with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to talk about his decision to run for governor. Carr will face off against current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffesperger and a couple of no-names in next May’s Republican primary seeking to succeed current Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited and cannot seek a third term. The winner will face the Democrat’s candidate in the 2026 general election in November.

I have known Chris Carr since his days as chief of staff to the late U.S. senator from Georgia, Johnny Isakson, a statesman whose likes we aren’t apt to see anytime soon in today’s poisonous world of Washington politics. So, first question: Why give up the job as attorney general and throw his hat in the ring to become the state’s 84th governor?

“I want to see Georgia continue to grow,” he said. “And I feel called to run. I have a great job but having worked with Govs. Kemp and Nathan Deal, I see the impact a governor can have in jobs, education, public safety and quality of life. I know I can do the job. I just need to convince people I can win the race.”

Carr became Georgia’s attorney general in 2016 when Gov. Deal appointed him to the post to succeed Sam Olens, who had resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University. He won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

“When I became attorney general, our office was largely a civil practice,” Carr told me, “representing the various agencies, boards and authorities in state government. Working with Govs. Deal and Kemp and with the Legislature, we got the necessary approvals and now have a very effective criminal practice, focusing on human trafficking, gangs and retail crime cases.” Carr says, “Our Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit has rescued over 200 children since 2019, young girls between the ages of 14 and 17, and secured lengthy prison sentences for their traffickers.” Carr also created Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit in 2022 and says the unit has obtained more than 120 convictions across the state so far which has resulted in getting gang members off the street.

Prior to his appointment as the state’s chief legal officer, Chris Carr was commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “I am very proud of the fact that Georgia has been the top state in the nation in which to do business for 12 years running. During my tenure there, we added some $14 billion in investment and the creation of more than 84,000 jobs.”

Back to the governor’s race, Carr says, “Burt Jones has the support of the ‘Ever Trumpers’ and Raffensperger is supported by the ‘Never Trumpers’ and I’ve got everybody else.” He notes that the last time the three of them were on the ballot together was in the 2022 Republican primary where he got 75% of the vote (roughly 840,000), as did Gov. Brian Kemp. Raffensperger got 62% (610,000) and Jones received 50.2%, (550,000) narrowly avoiding a runoff.

Carr says that Raffensperger has high name recognition among Republicans but is viewed negatively by most of them. Jones, he says, is using the David Perdue failed 2022 playbook, “a rich guy dipping into his personal fortune” – Jones recently “loaned” himself $10 million for his campaign – “and touting Donald Trump’s endorsement.”

“You have to be able to appeal to persuadable voters in Georgia who voted for Brian Kemp for governor and Raphael Warnock for the Senate. That’s 60% of the voters,” he says.

How does he propose to do that? “We know there are about 750,000 Republicans who vote in the primary and some 2.5 million in November. That is a difference of some 1.8 million voters. Our task is to move as many of them as we can into voting in the primary and talking about issues that matter to them like jobs, safety, affordability and education. I believe that if you ask them, they will do it, and that is what we intend to do.”

In closing, I mentioned to the attorney general that four recent polls show him with between 7 to 19 percent of the vote, Raffensperger with 14 to 20 percent and Jones between 20 and 30 percent. His answer? “Brian Kemp, Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue were all in third place in the early stages of their elections. Today, we call them ‘governor.’” Clearly, that’s what Chris Carr has in mind.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.