Days after Gov. Brian Kemp abruptly entered the campaign and told Collins and two other candidates in private that he would be supporting his longtime buddy, former football coach Derek Dooley, he made his much anticipated appearance.
The field was jumbled by the move. Within hours, Insurance Commissioner John King resigned, and Collins and U.S. Representative Buddy Carter intensified their efforts.
The election now looks to be set for a three-way GOP fight between three unusual opponents: Dooley, a political newbie who is anticipated to enter the race soon; Carter, a longstanding, wealthy coastal Georgia senator; and Collins, a staunch MAGA supporter.
Photos from the AJC file are credited.
Photos from the AJC file are credited.
Only after Kemp withdrew his own bid did the primary start to take shape, as other possible heavyweights, including as former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, accepted positions in the Trump administration.
In the past, Mike Collins had presented himself as a reluctant soldier who would have made way for Kemp or other prominent Republicans. However, he and his supporters suddenly see a chance for their brand of bare-knuckled, Trump-aligned politics.
In 2022, he defeated a Trump-backed opponent in a hard runoff to win his deep-red northeast Georgia district. He is the son of the late U.S. Representative Mac Collins.He has established a reputation as a legislative worker and a political warrior since coming to Washington.
He was the first new lawmaker to sponsor a bill that Democratic President Joe Biden signed into law. Additionally, the first bill that Trump signed into law after taking office again in January was a crackdown on immigration that Collins supported and was named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed.
Nathan Posner for the AJC is credited.
Nathan Posner for the AJC is credited.
He is a frequent visitor to the Georgia GOP circuit and has established MAGA credentials, having traveled the country last year to campaign for candidates running on a pro-Trump America First Congress platform. He has gained a loyal following of Trump fans as well as numerous detractors thanks to his inflammatory memes and culture war broadsides.
However, his team will also present Collins to swing voters as a blue-collar trucking company CEO who has a talent for bridging party divides.
Kemp’s months-long attempt to negotiate a consensus GOP choice with Trump will be made more difficult by Collins’ arrival. Insiders anticipate that the president will wait and observe the outcome of the contest before acting.
As the sole incumbent senator seeking reelection in a state that Trump won, Ossoff is viewed as both a formidable campaigner and a vulnerable Democrat.
He has tried to win over moderate Georgians while consistently supporting his party’s agendas since he won the seat in the 2021 runoffs that gave Democrats control of the Senate. He has already attempted to portray the campaign as a referendum on Trump and has sunk more than $15.4 million.
Collins is, too. He vowed to carry out Trump’s agenda and charged Ossoff with forsaking Georgia’s interests.
He declared, “This is Georgia’s moment.” It’s time for the people to regain control of this Senate seat, fulfill President Trump’s America First agenda, and put a stop to Jon Ossoff. I will accomplish just that with you in November of next year.
