Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) officially launched his bid in the state’s 2026 governor’s race Thursday.  “As a proven conservative, building on the legacy of Brian Kemp, Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue, I’m running to create jobs for hardworking Georgians, keep our families and our neighborhoods safe, and vigorously defend our constitution and our freedoms,” Carr said in a Thursday post on social platform X.  “Together, we will fight to keep Georgia red,” he added.  Carr, who was appointed in 2016 by then-Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) following Sam Olens’s resignation from the post, became the first major candidate in the state’s gubernatorial contest.  The Republican attorney general won the election for a full term in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. He filed paperwork Thursday with the Georgia Ethics Commission, creating a campaign committee to raise funds for his statewide bid.  On his campaign website, Carr vowed to boost the state’s private sector through tax incentives, fund law enforcement, “end the opioid crisis,” and “continue to hold elected officials accountable to their oaths of office and the people of Georgia.”  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is term-limited and will leave office in two years.  While Carr is the first GOP candidate to throw his hat in the ring, he might not be the last. Other contenders could include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R). Jones could be in a position to gain President-elect Trump’s support, as he has been a staunch ally of the president-elect. Raffensperger and Carr faced Trump-backed primary challengers in 2022.