Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) revealed on Tuesday that he is talking with President Donald Trump about mounting a campaign challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) for his seat in the upper chamber.
“I love my district. I mean, just good, solid, hardworking people. But I also understand that sometimes, you don’t do what you want to do, but what you need to do,” Collins said in a video announcement.
“So many of you asked me to take a look at this, and we are because I respect your feedback and, frankly, your encouragement. So I’m going to meet with my family. We’re going to pray on it. I’m going to continue to talk to President Trump and his team just about where we can be the best, beneficial, most help in this mission to make sure that we get a Republican in the U.S. Senate from Georgia,” he continued.
The GOP field of candidates seeking to oust Ossoff remains unsettled, with some stakeholders worrying the current lineup has failed to inspire confidence that Republicans can flip the seat.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), state Insurance Commissioner John King, and activist Reagan Box have entered the race.
Others, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, football coach Derek Dooley, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, state Sen. Greg Dolezal, and state Sen. Colton Moore, are mulling their options.
Dooley has close ties with Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) but has been dismissed as a joke by some Republican critics.
Raffensperger is rumored to be considering a run for senator or governor as Republicans eye gains in Georgia, which had been viewed as a reliably red area for decades before Democrats claimed critical victories in recent years, including Ossoff’s Senate win in 2020. Should Raffensperger go the gubernatorial route, he would join Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr in vying for a primary win.
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Raffensperger is unlikely to receive Trump’s backing, due to their public clash in 2021 when Raffensperger defied Trump and certified Georgia’s results for the 2020 election in favor of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Still, polls have shown he could be the Republicans’ strongest candidate to beat Ossoff.
