Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest and most vocal allies, will announce a challenge to appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) in upcoming days.
According to Politico, the two would be competing to finish Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R-GA) term after he retired for health reasons last year. There will be an all-party election this November, with the top two candidates going to a runoff in January if no one gets over 50 percent.
Collins raised his profile as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, where he loudly, and often armed with conspiracy theory talking points, gave a full-throated defense of the President.
His impending challenge may explain Loeffler’s attack against Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) Monday for “appeasing” Democrats by calling for witnesses who will “slander” Trump’s name.
After 2 weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment. Sadly, my colleague @SenatorRomney wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the @realDonaldTrump during their 15 minutes of fame. The circus is over. It’s time to move on! #gapol
— Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) January 27, 2020
When Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was selecting someone to fill Isakson’s seat, Collins submitted his name for consideration. He was even Trump’s preferred pick, as the President liked the idea of having such an ardent supporter in the Senate. However, Kemp bucked the White House and went with Loeffler, less of a firebrand but more likely to woo suburban women that the party has been hemorrhaging.
Since then, Loeffler has been trying to prove her Trumpian credentials by opposing impeachment and signing off on various anti-abortion bills. Now, she has even more reason to step up her presidential devotion: Collins, per Politico, already reached out to the White House to take Trump’s temperature on a possible run.
Since he’s still full speed ahead on the announcement, one can assume that that talk did not go particularly well where Loeffler is concerned.
