SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia Republican who ran a fringe campaign for governor under the slogan “Jesus, Guns and Babies” says she's running for Congress in 2026.
Kandiss Taylor of Baxley announced during an appearance Tuesday on Steve Bannon's “War Room” podcast that she will seek the GOP nomination in southeast Georgia’s 1st Congressional District.
"I’m ready to go to D.C. and blow some things up,” Taylor said, declaring that Republicans and Democrats alike will support her because “I represent Jesus.”
Religious morality and conspiracy theories were at the forefront of Taylor's long-shot bid for Georgia governor in 2022. She campaigned on a bus emblazoned with the words “Jesus Guns Babies” and called for the destruction of a Georgia monument sometimes likened to Stonehenge. Taylor called it satanic.
While Gov. Brian Kemp won the gubernatorial primary, Taylor came in third with 3% of the vote. She refused to concede, instead claiming — without evidence — that the election had been marred by widespread cheating.
Taylor currently serves as the Georgia Republican Party's 1st District chairperson.
Her congressional campaign sets up a potential Republican primary showdown next year with GOP Rep. Buddy Carter, who won reelection to a sixth term in November. Carter's seat spans a 15-county area that includes Savannah on the coast and the Okefenokee Swamp at the Florida line.
Like Taylor, Carter is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. He recently sponsored a bill authorizing the U.S. to acquire Greenland and to rename it “Red, White and Blueland.”
Carter's House seat could open up in 2026 if he seeks to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Carter has said he's waiting to see whether Kemp enters the Senate race.
The Associated Press
