{"id":20858,"date":"2026-04-02T09:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/inside-the-blame-game-roiling-georgias-gop-senate-primary\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:01:51","slug":"inside-the-blame-game-roiling-georgias-gop-senate-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/inside-the-blame-game-roiling-georgias-gop-senate-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the blame game roiling Georgia’s GOP Senate primary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Republicans once saw Georgia as the crown jewel of their Senate pickup opportunities. They\u2019re now blaming each other as the GOP primary unravels into an intraparty brawl that could cost them their chance of defeating Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.<\/p>\n

The party is grappling with a crowded field, no dominant front-runner, no endorsement from President Donald Trump \u2014 and the reality that the May 19 primary will very likely extend into an expensive, bruising mid-June runoff.<\/p>\n

Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), a close Trump ally, leads in public polling<\/a>, with fellow Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Gov. Brian Kemp-endorsed former football coach Derek Dooley battling for second. But a large share of voters remain undecided, underscoring how fluid the race is. Meanwhile, incumbent Ossoff \u2014 who faces no primary challenge of his own \u2014 is keeping his powder dry and has amassed a formidable eight-figure campaign war chest<\/a> ready to deploy in the general election.<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ossoff could write a playbook for how he wants this primary to go, this is exactly it,\u201d said a GOP operative, who, like others interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race\u2019s dynamics. They said that Georgia is like a “red-headed stepchild” not getting any attention from Washington.<\/p>\n

Republicans point to several unforced errors that got the party to this point. Some say their current challenges were set in motion last year, when they failed to convince the state\u2019s popular outgoing GOP governor, Kemp, to run for Ossoff\u2019s seat. Others point to a lackluster effort by the National Republican Senatorial Committee to recruit a stronger crop of candidates or unify the field. Many also fault Trump and Kemp, who have had a sometimes-testy relationship, for failing to agree on a candidate they both could support to avoid a costly primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not ideal that it looks like it’s going to runoff,\u201d said Cole Muzio, president of the conservative Frontline Policy Council. \u201cThere was so much talk about Kemp and Trump getting together and finding a nominee together, landing the plane on one person. I’m not going to try to sort out what happened with that, but a unity nominee would have been ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The early finger-pointing that has emerged in conversations with a dozen GOP strategists and officials in Georgia reflects their deep frustration with the state of their primary \u2014 and their chances of holding onto the Senate majority. The party is fending off competitive Democratic candidates in several red states as voters sour on Trump’s agenda<\/a>, making flipping Georgia even more of a priority.<\/p>\n

“It’s a mess that could have been much less messy if they had figured this out six months ago,” said a second Georgia-based Republican strategist unaffiliated with any campaign. “Everybody’s resigned to this going to May and then a June runoff and then pick up the pieces after that.”<\/p>\n

Early general election polling shows Ossoff leading<\/a> all three potential GOP candidates in a head-to-head matchup. After five years in the Senate, he has built a formidable political operation, churned out razor-thin statewide wins and amassed a sizable fundraising cushion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cJon Ossoff has $24 million. Jon Ossoff is on TV all of the time, carefully articulating his positions, grilling Tulsi Gabbard \u2014 really being methodical,\u201d said Ryan Mahoney, a GOP strategist unaffiliated in the race. \u201cHe has tons of resources \u2014 great name ID, a lot of exposure \u2014 while the Republicans are fighting against each other, trying to see who can break out and ultimately be the nominee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s just in a great position,\u201d Mahoney noted.<\/p>\n

Still, several Republicans say they\u2019re confident about their prospects in a state that Trump won in 2024, and they expect money and outside support to dramatically ramp up once their nominee is decided.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans created this problem. We created this problem and it’s not any one person,\u201d the second GOP strategist said. “I still think a Republican can win, I just think we’re making it way harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

With around 40 percent<\/a> of likely GOP primary voters still undecided, according to recent public polling, the Senate candidates have been jockeying for Trump\u2019s blessing \u2014 an endorsement that could be pivotal in deciding the future of the race.<\/p>\n

All three candidates have engaged with the White House directly. In an interview with conservative host Clay Travis\u2019 Outkick podcast<\/a>, Dooley said he met with Trump in the Oval Office last year and had a \u201cvery engaging conversation.\u201d Carter, for his part, told Blue Light News in a brief interview that his campaign continues \u201cto talk to the administration\u201d about the race. Collins and the president have also met and discussed the race, according to a person familiar with the conversation. In February, Collins appeared onstage with the president during an event in Rome, Georgia, focused on Trump\u2019s economic agenda.<\/p>\n

\"PEACHTREE<\/p>\n

Collins\u2019 campaign recently released a lengthy memo<\/a> outlining his argument for why the field should coalesce him around the primary. \u201c[Democrats] are watching Republicans turn what should be the best pickup opportunity of the midterms into a needless intraparty squabble that wastes time and resources,\u201d the memo reads. \u201cInstead of spending the majority of 2026 focused on defeating Jon Ossoff, Republicans are on track to not be unified until late June, after a runoff, leaving the Republican nominee only four months to raise money and campaign across the largest state east of the Mississippi to unseat the Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most outside groups have been waiting to line up behind a clear front-runner, though Club for Growth PAC, a major conservative super PAC, has already endorsed Collins\u2019 campaign<\/a> \u2014 an unusual step for a group that usually acts in lockstep with the White House\u2019s political strategy.<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to a request for comment regarding Trump\u2019s thinking about the primary or his conversations with the three candidates.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the Kemp factor.<\/p>\n

After the governor declined to run<\/a>, Republicans feared the primary could become a proxy war between himand Trump<\/a>, who\u2019ve previously clashed over Trump\u2019s insistence that the 2020 election in Georgia was fraudulent. That hasn\u2019t quite played out, with the president staying out of the race so far. But Kemp\u2019s decision to back Dooley, the former football coach, means it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll find common ground.<\/p>\n

Dooley has no prior experience in politics. State voting records show the former coach did not vote in presidential elections in 2016 and 2020<\/a> \u2014 attack fodder for his opponents as they seek Trump\u2019s endorsement. (He did vote for Trump<\/a> in 2024.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s no secret that the profile of a candidate that President Trump would prefer is much different than the profile of a candidate that Governor Kemp would prefer,\u201d said a third local GOP strategist, who is unaffiliated in the race. \u201cThe nexus between those two just made it very hard, if not impossible, to come out with a consensus candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Kemp, doubled down on the governor\u2019s support for Dooley in a statement and said he isn\u2019t \u201cwasting time worrying about the complaints of anonymous consultants.\u201d Dooley spokesperson Connor Whitney said he\u2019s confident Georgia voters will \u201cchoose the only political outsider in this race \u2014 not another stale D.C. politician.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PEACHTREE<\/p>\n

Carter spokesperson Chris Crawford rejected the criticism of running a messy primary, saying that \u201conly in Washington do consultants think voters choosing their nominee is a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins, in a statement, expressed confidence in his ability to win the primary, and added that his campaign \u201cwould welcome any help to ensure we could wrap this up in May and get on to the main event.”<\/p>\n

With Georgia in a holding pattern, some local Republicans worry that Washington\u2019s attention is drifting toward Michigan, where former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers has unified the party \u2014 and the president<\/a> \u2014 around him in the state\u2019s key battleground Senate race as a trio of Democrats battle it out in their own messy primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s offense and defense. I think on offense, [Georgia] is still a top race. I think the only difference is that Michigan is a clear field. Rogers is ready to roll. He’s raising money. Dems have a mess on their side over there,\u201d said one national Republican familiar with the party\u2019s midterm strategy, who was granted anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes planning.<\/p>\n

Still, the person said they believe Georgia remains competitive, particularly if Republicans unify.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Nick Puglia, a spokesperson for the NRSC, said Ossoff \u201cis the most vulnerable incumbent on the map\u201d and Georgia \u201chas been and remains a top state for Republicans to expand President Trump\u2019s Senate Majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Republicans in the Peach State are skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sense from some Republicans a feeling that maybe Michigan is a better opportunity, and of course, one of the reasons \u2026 for that is, \u2018well, the field\u2019s been cleared,\u2019\u201d said a fourth GOP strategist in Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like D.C. is shifting to Michigan because of a problem that they could solve today,\u201d said the second Georgia-based GOP strategist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republicans once saw Georgia as the crown jewel of their Senate pickup opportunities. They\u2019re now blaming each other as the GOP primary unravels into an intraparty brawl that could cost them their chance of defeating Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The party is grappling with a crowded field, no dominant front-runner, no endorsement from President Donald […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}