Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) endorsed Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Monday in the fight to unseat vulnerable far-left Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
“Mike Collins and I share a commitment to making Georgia an even better place to live, work, and raise a family,” Kemp said in a statement. “Mike has delivered results as a businessman and commonsense leader in Washington, and that’s what we need in our next Senator. Jon Ossoff’s far-left agenda doesn’t represent Georgia values, and the future of our state and country demands a different direction.”
Collins, a trucking company owner who is also endorsed by President Donald Trump and represents Georgia’s 10th congressional district, thanked Kemp for his support in his effort to claw back one of two Democrat-held seats in the increasingly purple Peach State.
“Governor Kemp has never been afraid of a tough fight, and Georgia is stronger today because he’s been willing to take them on,” Collins said in a statement. “I’m grateful to have him standing with me to take back Georgia’s Senate seat, stand up to the far-left agenda, and defeat Jon Ossoff this November.”
Kemp first endorsed political outsider Derek Dooley ahead of the primary election, declining to run for the position himself after the end of his second term — Kemp is term-limited and cannot run for governor again. Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach, lawyer, and first-time candidate, lost to Collins in the primary 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent.
Kemp, who had also supported Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) in the gubernatorial race, has since shifted his support to billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson after Jackson rallied a powerful last-minute campaign and defeated Jones.
In a statement to the Georgia Recorder, a spokesperson for the Ossoff campaign claimed a Kemp endorsement will not do much to improve Collins’s position.
“There’s a reason Brian Kemp worked so hard to defeat bigot Mike Collins in the GOP primary and waited to endorse the congressman until less than two months from Election Day, and it’s that Collins, who’s only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, is surrounded at work and at home by neo-Nazis and white nationalists,” spokesperson Valeria Rivadeneira-Crandell told the outlet.
The Georgia Senate race is expected to be extremely tight and could even determine which party holds the majority during the second half of President Donald Trump’s second term. Ossoff was previously dubbed the “most vulnerable” Democrat up for reelection, but he is also widely believed to harbor ambitions to run for the presidency in 2028.
RealClear Polling rates the race a “toss-up,” and its polling average shows Ossoff with an average projected lead of 7.8 points.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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