Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr said Thursday he is running for governor in 2026, becoming the first major candidate from either party to announce a bid.

Prominent Republicans and Democrats are eyeing the seat, which will open in two years after the limited Republican governor. Brian Kemp leaves the office. Other potential Republican challengers include Governor Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, while the Democratic field is less well-defined.

Carr is presenting himself as the best candidate to continue steady Republican leadership in the form of the late U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, former Gov. Nathan Deal and Kemp.

“I’ve seen what it takes to be successful,” Carr told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “And I want to run as the proven conservative who will create jobs for hardworking Georgians, keep our families and neighborhoods safe, and vigorously defend our Constitution and freedoms.”

Carr has aligned himself closely with Kemp but could face opposition from President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters in a primary. Jones has been close to Trump and would likely lobbied for his support. In contrast, Trump supported primary opponents who ultimately lost to both Carr and Raffensperger in 2022, fueled by his dissatisfaction that neither Carr nor Raffensperger endorsed Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential bid loss in Georgia.

Carr said he was confident he could win on issues and appeal to enough voters to win a Republican primary, despite his past disagreements with Trump.

“This race is not going to be about how loud someone yells or screams, it’s going to be about a conservative record,” he said. “And I’m the one who has it.”

It is unusually early to announce a political bid in 2026. Typically, statewide candidates in Georgia would announce sometime after the 2025 legislative session. But Carr let it be known more than a year ago that he was lining up donors for a run. That’s partly because Jones and Raffensperger are much richer than Carr.

Carr filed papers with the Georgia Ethics Commission Thursday creating a campaign committee to raise money for the governor’s race. Announcing now could help Carr lock in donors, especially since he won’t be able to raise money for his state campaign account during the three-month legislative session that convenes Jan. 13.

The Georgia attorney general’s office has traditionally been busy defending civil lawsuits against the state and could only help with prosecutions if a local district attorney asked for help. But Republican lawmakers have given Carr increasing powers to directly prosecute criminals.

In 2019, lawmakers authorized Carr to create a human trafficking prosecution unit. Carr’s office says the unit has convicted 50 people, participated in 325 investigations and helped more than 200 victims.

In 2022, lawmakers called on Carr to create a statewide gang prosecution unit that now has offices in Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and southeast Georgia. That unit has secured more than 40 convictions and indictments against over 140 people.

“No one is going to come here and find a business or a job if they don’t feel safe,” Carr said, calling his office’s expansion of prosecutions “very successful.”

After working as an attorney and vice president of the conservative Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Carr made his entry into politics when he joined the staff of U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson in 2004 and became Isakson’s chief of staff in 2007.

Gov. Nathan Deal tapped Carr to be economic development commissioner in 2013 after another old Isakson hand, Chris Cummiskey, left to work for Southern Co., the Atlanta-based energy giant. Deal placed a strong emphasis on economic development as Georgia tried to dig itself out of the wreckage of the Great Recession, and Carr helped facilitate projects worth more than $14 billion in investments that helped create more than 83,000 jobs.

Deal promoted Carr to attorney general in 2016 after Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University. Carr had not practiced law for a living in years and had never personally tried a case. But he was unchallenged in the 2018 Republican primary and narrowly beat Democrat Charlie Bailey in the general election.

In 2022, Carr defeated right-wing primary challenger John Gordon despite Gordon receiving Trump’s endorsement, then beat Democrat Jen Jordan in the narrowest victory of any Republican on the statewide ballot that year.

Georgia’s attorney general has no term limits, meaning Carr could have chosen to run for re-election in 2026.

Jones did not say anything about his political plans Thursday, but emphasized his connection to Trump.

“Georgia just endured a long election where the lieutenant governor was proud to fight alongside President Trump — now it’s time to get to work,” said Jones’ chief of staff, Loree Anne Paradise. “Burt is focused on delivering conservative solutions to the issues the General Assembly will address in the upcoming legislative session.”

Democratic candidates may include U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath and outgoing DeKalb County Executive Michael Thurmond.

Republicans have won six straight gubernatorial races in Georgia since Sonny Perdue became the first Republican elected in the modern era in 2002. Democrats had hoped to break that streak under Stacey Abrams in 2022 after she narrowly lost to Kemp in 2018, but Kemp defeated her by a wide margin in his revenge.