GOP’s “Nasty Fight” Gets Worse as Deal Breaks Ranks to Back Collins

Deal backs Collins at “private fundraiser,” throwing fuel on an already raging intraparty fire by declaring that the seat “cannot be bought”

ATLANTA — Yesterday, former Governor Nathan Deal became the latest GOP official “breaking ranks” to support top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins, slamming unelected “political mega-donor” Senator Kelly Loeffler and claiming, “A Senate seat representing the state of Georgia cannot be bought.”

Deal’s endorsement represents a new escalation in “the brutal Collins-Loeffler fight” which “has sharply divided Georgia Republicans” at a time when they can least afford it. Loeffler has responded with a scorched earth campaign dumping millions on Georgia’s airwaves slamming Collins and racing as far to the right as possible. Collins has countered with his own bitter tactics, slamming Loeffler’s team as “vile and unpleasant,” further dividing Republicans ahead of the November election.

And while the GOP fights its toxic intraparty feud, both Collins and Loeffler are trailing Democrats in head-to-head matchups as political experts have responded by moving the race away from the GOP.

“Governor Nathan Deal’s endorsement today shows that Republicans are still hopelessly divided just weeks before the November election — and that their inflamed intraparty tensions show no signs of ending soon,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “But while Georgia Republicans are busy waging a self-destructive intraparty fight, Georgia Democrats are continuing to focus on real issues, like health care, that matter to Georgia voters.”

Read more about Deal’s endorsement and Republicans’ growing feud:

AJC: Nathan Deal backs Doug Collins bid for Senate in Georgia

• Former Gov. Nathan Deal endorsed Doug Collins’ bid for U.S. Senate, making him the most prominent state Republican to support the four-term congressman’s challenge to U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a nasty fight that has divided the Georgia GOP.

• The former governor endorsed Collins on Monday at a private fundraiser in Gainesville, the same north Georgia city where both Republicans launched their political careers.

• It further highlights a split in the state party between Collins and Loeffler, the top GOP contenders in a messy 21-candidate November special election.

• Deal’s endorsement is his highest-profile foray in politics since he left office in 2019 after two terms as governor – and a break with his successor, Gov. Brian Kemp, who tapped Loeffler to the open U.S. Senate seat and has marshaled his political allies behind her campaign.

• [Deal said:] “A Senate seat representing the state of Georgia cannot be bought.”

• Collins has been unable to match Loeffler’s financial firepower, and she has flooded the airwaves with attacks on his record in Congress and TV spots promoting her as one of President Donald Trump’s top allies.

• The brutal Collins-Loeffler fight has sharply divided Georgia Republicans at a time when Democrats are aiming to upend GOP control of the state.

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