AJC: “The Republican race to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has already taken a nasty turn.”
Georgia’s GOP Party Chair Josh McKoon recently joined The John Fredericks Show to beg the GOP U.S. Senate candidates to stop spending time and resources fiercely attacking one another as the primary “has already taken a nasty turn.”
Since joining the race, “MAGA warrior” Rep. Buddy Carter, MAGA extremist Rep. Mike Collins, and failed and fired former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley have engaged in constant “infighting” and turned the primary into a “splintered,” “combustible” mess that will leave the eventual nominee badly bruised and battered heading into a general election.
AJC: Josh McKoon wants GOP US Senate candidates to stop fighting one another
By: Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam
October 24, 2025
KEY EXCERPTS:
- The Republican race to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has already taken a nasty turn. Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon doesn’t want it to get worse.
- In an interview on the “John Fredericks Show,” McKoon called for a ceasefire between the leading contenders.
- He didn’t name names, but his comments were clearly aimed at U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley, who have traded barbs over their loyalty to President Donald Trump, fundraising prowess and backgrounds.
- “We do not need to spend the next six months tearing each other apart,” he said.
- ”We need to do everything we can to stop spending money attacking Republicans because it will make what is a difficult task even more difficult next November.”
- There’s a history here, of course. In 2020, then-Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler faced an insurgent challenge from then-U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, sparking a brutal internal fight that split the GOP and pulled both contenders toward the party’s flank.