Anger in Georgia GOP primary as candidates challenge Senator Jon Ossoff

The Georgia Senate Race Grows More Complicated

The Georgia Senate race is becoming increasingly contentious. State and national party officials are expressing anger over strategies employed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp. A PAC associated with him has aired ads praising two incumbent Republicans while also assigning blame to them for the recent government shutdown. Interestingly, these ads have featured Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach, who is Kemp’s preferred candidate.

One ad states, “They all failed and shut down the government.” This approach marks a significant shift, using the shutdown as a campaign tool. The ads have irritated the two targeted candidates, Republican Representatives Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, who had voted for legislation aimed at preventing the shutdown.

There’s growing concern among Republican officials that this internal conflict could weaken their position against Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.

One Republican strategist in Georgia voiced frustration, stating, “We have a golden opportunity to unseat the weakest Democratic Party on the map, and we’re groping for it.” He described the situation as a “massive distraction.”

David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, shared his worries about Dooley’s supporters, stating they “failed in their attempt to score cheap political points and quickly sold out the Republican leadership.”

Ossoff won his seat back in 2020 with a slim 50.6% of the vote and currently stands as the highest-funded Senate Democrat in the country.

Collins has accused the governor’s group of misrepresenting him by connecting him with Ossoff, claiming it’s “parroting the lie of anti-Trump Democrats that ‘Republicans are to blame for the government shutdown.'” The National Republican Senatorial Committee also criticized the ads.

Notably, Dooley’s brother, Daniel, a former college roommate of Kemp, serves on the board of Hardworking Georgians, Inc. PAC, which is responsible for the controversial ads. Despite earlier intentions, Kemp announced in May that he would be canceling his campaign, even amidst appeals from the White House and Republican leaders.