With two months to go until Georgia’s GOP Senate primary, frontrunner Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) is attacking former football coach Derek Dooley for relying on Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp’s help on the trail.
“Listen, we’re 20 points in the lead, not because I got a governor running around, holding my hand,” Collins said in previously unreported comments at a March 14 candidate forum.
In a March 17 campaign memo, Collins’ team said he’s winning despite “interference from an incumbent governor.”
The RealClearPolitics polling average has Collins at 30%, well ahead of Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) at 17% and Dooley at 11%.
Senate Republicans originally wanted Kemp to run against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), but the governor passed on a run. Kemp said he’d work with President Donald Trump to coalesce around a candidate who could win the general. But Kemp perturbed the White House when he endorsed Dooley, a former Tennessee football coach who’s never run a political campaign.
“Derek Dooley has a history of destroying storied legacies. It’s just sad to see him adding a well-respected governor to his wake of desolation,” Collins spokesperson Corbin Keown said in a statement.
Kemp just wrapped up a week-long campaign swing with Dooley. Kemp’s been ever-present by Dooley’s side on the trail all cycle.
“I’m proud to have the support of America’s best governor,” Dooley said in a statement. “While Mike continues to attack me and our great conservative governor, I’m going to stay laser-focused on earning the support of hardworking Georgians and beating Jon Ossoff in November.”
