Tom Price. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Elections Tom Price angling for Georgia Senate appointment

Tom Price, the former Health and Human Services secretary, has applied for the appointment to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson, who is resigning at the end of this year.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement for Isakson and has allowed interested candidates to apply through an online portal. Kemp’s office confirmed that Price’s application had been received. His application was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


Price, a former six-term Republican congressman, was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as HHS secretary at the outset of his administration. He resigned in September 2017 after POLITICO revealed his use of private and government planes for travel.

Price held a suburban Atlanta seat in Congress, and his resignation to join the Cabinet set off a special election that became the most expensive House race in history. Republicans narrowly held the seat in June 2017, but now-Rep. Lucy McBath flipped the seat blue in November.

Price joins several other high-profile Republicans to apply for the appointment, including Rep. Doug Collins and former Rep. Paul Broun. There’s a wide range of other potential candidates for Kemp's pending appointment, and the biggest names include Rep. Tom Graves, state Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.

Kemp's appointee will hold the seat until a special election, set for next November, for the remainder of the unexpired term. The seat will be up again in the 2022 elections.