JACKSON, GA (AP) — In his bid for the GOP nomination to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, Republican U.S. Representative Mike Collins, a second-term Georgia representative, is looking to bolster his base of support.
After announcing his intention to run in July, Collins appeared at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Columbus on Tuesday after formally launching his campaign in his hometown of Jackson. He is attempting to win over more conventional corporate conservatives as well as the supporters of President Donald Trump.
Despite GOP Gov. Brian Kemp supporting newcomer Derek Dooley, Collins, the trucking company owner and son of a former congressman, has received the support of scores of Republican state politicians. Buddy Carter, a fellow Republican congressman, is also running.
Collins claims he can bring the party together.
Collins stated, “Everyone knows that I’m MAGA.” However, they are also aware that I am able to communicate with the more moderate Republicans in our society.
Ossoff is a prime target for the GOP since he is the only Democratic incumbent running for reelection in 2026 from a state that Trump won. Kemp declined to run, despite Republican hopes that he would. Trump hasn’t made a decision yet, but Kemp and Trump have talked about looking for a shared candidate to run against Ossoff. Collins and his supporters said they think Trump will support Collins in the end.
Bruce LeVell, who led Trump’s national diversity coalition in 2016 and gave a speech at Collins’ rally on Tuesday, stated, “I think it’s a matter of time.”
Dooley and Carter are also vying for Trump’s support. On Wednesday, Carter, who himself as a MAGA warrior, praised his backing for Trump’s budget bill and demanded more lax environmental and regulatory approvals. He stated that he is certain that his fundraising would enable him to stay up with other Republicans and that he expects to secure Trump’s support as soon as possible.
Carter declared, “I am the conservative candidate, of course.” It’s me who served as mayor. I’ve served in the state assembly. I’ve spent ten years in Congress. I’ve been voting with Donald Trump 98% of the time, therefore my voting record is unmistakable. Carter served as mayor of Pooler, a town outside of Savannah.
Son of the renowned football head coach Vince Dooley of the University of Georgia, Dooley, a former football coach at the University of Tennessee, attended the luncheon on Wednesday but turned down demands for an interview. He has been preparing to run as an outsider in politics.
Ossoff presented the business community with his own argument. He made no mention of Trump by name during a question-and-answer session before the chamber on Wednesday. He addressed less divisive topics like funding Georgia’s military installations and promoting veterans’ health care.
He did, however, argue that the Trump administration was harming America’s reputation abroad by reducing international aid and diplomacy, reducing U.S. research and incentives for new technology, and disrupting trade with new tariffs.
“To be honest, we are causing ourselves a great deal of harm in this competition with China,” Ossoff stated.
The national party has been disparaging Ossoff, as evidenced by a recent wave of mailings and advertisements that claim he supported higher taxes because he disagreed with Trump’s budget proposal.
Even if Kemp isn’t supporting him, Collins is promoting a list of supporters from each of Georgia’s 159 counties, including state legislators and local officials, to give the impression that the party is picking him. Although campaigns frequently share these lists, Collins did so quite early on. Additionally, when the state Republican Party does not have a formal committee in every county, he has at least one supporter from each county.
As Collins’ finance chairman, Ben Tarbutton III, a seasoned businessman from Georgia, stated, “I do believe that Mike checks all the boxes.” When the Georgia Chamber supported Kemp’s reelection campaign in 2022, Tarbutton was its chairman.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, another Jackson native whom Trump has supported in his Republican run for governor, was among the well-wishers who were present Tuesday but did not back Collins. Also there were two leading GOP candidates for lieutenant governor.
Carter and Collins both have positive things to say about Kemp. But Kemp’s backing of Dooley has many Republicans baffled.
LeVell remarked, “I have no idea what the hell Brian Kemp is doing.” I don’t know.
