ICYMI: The 2026 Race For Governor Has Begun And It May Get Testy Real Soon. CORRECTED.

Today Greg Bluestein tweeted this:

Attorney General Chris Carr has told a growing number of Republican activists and elected officials that he will run for governor in 2026 to succeed incumbent Brian Kemp, a close political ally who can’t run for a third term. #gapol https://t.co/IgvWhbMtQD

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) July 31, 2023

The sitting Attorney General telling people he’s going to run for Governor is not exactly shocking news, but why kick off the rumors now?

Let’s see what’s happening down the street from the AG’s office:

Fulton County DA Fani Willis ordered barricades be placed around the FulCo Courthouse to hold back the angry Trump loving hoards fixin’ to descend upon Atlanta. <insert eyeroll emoji>

Barricades erected outside the Fulton County courthouse now. Looks like preparation for some big legal news… pic.twitter.com/3QOccQOMnf

— Charles Bethea (@charlesbethea) July 27, 2023

Fani Willis seems poised to announce her prosecutorial decisions soon. Perhaps even this week.

You might remember that Willis has been barred from questioning another probably candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones in her investigation.

Judge Robert McBurney on Monday granted Sen. Jones’ motion to disqualify the District Attorney and her office from “publicly categorizing him as a subject or target (or anything else) of the grand jury’s investigation.” The office also “may not ask the grand jury to include any recommendations about him in their final report.”

However, McBurney specified that this does not disqualify Willis from gathering evidence about the senator’s involvement in efforts to undermine the election results.

Willis and her office can also still ask witnesses about Jones’ role in “the various efforts the State Republican party undertook to call into question the legitimacy of the results of the election,” according to the ruling.

Essentially, what Willis and her office can’t do at this point is use any potential evidence to develop a case against the senator himself.

As the judge noted, the decision on whether Jones will be will be charged will be left to a different prosecutor’s office, “as determined by the Attorney General.”

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/fani-willis-burt-jones-fulton-grand-jury/85-86e758fa-0c57-45ff-aac9-7ddcc5d17db8

But, and it’s a big but, she could continue gather evidence of Jones’ involvement in the post-2020 election brouhaha.

What does this have to do with the Chris Carr rumors you ask? Let me tell you.

What if Fani Willis indicts a whole mess of Republicans from Trump to Lindsey Graham, to David Shafer, to a whole slew of “alternate” electors, and then says “I’ve gathered all this evidence on Burt Jones and think he should be indicted too!” As the 11Alive article says, whether Jones is charged will be “left to a different prosecutor’s office, as determined by the Attorney General.”

If you’re Chris Carr and you want to run for Governor and you think this decision might be headed to your desk, better to have your rumored candidacy out there before you assign a prosecutor to examine a potential rival.

The 2026 Race for Georgia Governor is underway and it’s going to be lit.

CORRECTION: Our Fearless Leader/Owner Scot Turner received word today that the 11Alive article linked to above contains a critical error. An appointment of a prosecutor to prosecute Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones would be made by the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of GA aka PAC, not by the Attorney General’s Office.

This correction actually strengthens my claim. AG Carr wants it to be known he is running for Governor well before any prosecution of LG Jones takes place…if it takes place at all.