Georgia Sen. Isakson to run for reelection

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) is running for reelection in 2016 and will officially announce his plans Monday.

{mosads}”He’ll be announcing that he is running for reelection in 2016 on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at 11 a.m. at the Georgia State Capitol,” Isakson spokeswoman Marie Gordon told The Hill.

Isakson is making an early announcement, as he seeks a third term in hopes of scaring off potential opponents in both parties. Appearing with him on Monday will be Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R), Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R), and House speaker David Ralston (R).

Isakson has easily defeated his Democratic opponents in his first two runs for office. Georgia, though, has been trending toward Democrats demographically, with fast-growing African-American, Hispanic and urban white populations.

But a pair of top-tier Democratic recruits couldn’t pull out wins this election cycle, as former charity executive Michelle Nunn (D) lost her Senate bid to businessman David Perdue (R) by 8 percentage points, and Deal defeated state Sen. Jason Carter (D) by a similar margin.

It’s unclear whether Democrats would be able to land a serious candidate to challenge Isakson in what will likely be an easier election cycle for their party than 2014.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Isakson’s plans.

— This story was updated at 10:10 a.m.