Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King launches U.S. Senate campaign
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The first Latino ever elected to a statewide Georgia office now wants to be its first U.S. senator of Hispanic descent.
On Monday, John King, who was elected Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner in 2022, announced he is running for the GOP Senate nomination with the ultimate goal of unseating one-term Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.
King and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declined to enter the race.
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King is a retired major general and former police chief.
“President Trump needs reinforcements and Georgia needs a new senator,” King said. “Jon Ossoff voted against securing our border, against ing Israel, and for letting men play women’s sports. He’s California’s third senator, not Georgia’s senior senator. It’s time for a change.
“I’ve led troops in combat, been blown up by an IED in Iraq, and been shot and stabbed in the line of duty as a cop. A tough campaign doesn’t scare me; giving Jon Ossoff six more years in the Senate does.”
King was born in Mexico and came to America when he was 17 years old. He enlisted in the Army National Guard as a private and retired in 2023 as a major general.
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King served around the world, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Africa. He also deployed to the southern border in 2017 during President Trump’s first term.
King spent four decades in law enforcement, ing the Atlanta Police Department as a beat cop and becoming Doraville’s police chief. He was shot and stabbed in the line of duty and is a graduate of the Georgia Israeli Law Enforcement Exchange.
King co-chaired President Trump’s 2020 campaign in Georgia and, in 2042, spoke at multiple Trump/Vance rallies.
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