“Nasty GOP Fight”: GOP’s Bitter Brawl Rages on as Washington Republicans Fear Losing Loeffler’s Seat — And Senate Majority

After Trump-allied Congressman’s entry sparked “a raging intraparty fight,” Republicans panic that the race is now “one of their two biggest vulnerabilities”

ATLANTA — “Political mega-donor” and unelected senator Kelly Loeffler and top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins ramped up their “all-out Republican feud” this week, further weakening the Georgia GOP as their expensive intraparty battle “devolves into nasty GOP fight amid fears it could cost [their] Senate majority.”

Washington Republicans are now trying desperately to close ranks around Loeffler even while admitting Collins’ run “has jeopardized the party’s chances to hold onto two GOP seats” and the race has become “one of their two biggest vulnerabilities.” As Loeffler and her out-of-state allies keep pouring millions into the race in a frantic bid to stay above water, Collins is firing back, slamming Loeffler as a “pretend farmer” in new ads.

While Loeffler and Collins are locked in a “brutal Republican-on-Republican fight” instead of focusing on winning over Georgia voters, top political analysts have moved the race toward the Democrats as Republicans continue their multimillion dollar slugfest.

See the latest disastrous coverage of the GOP’s  “raging intraparty fight”:

CNN: Georgia race devolves into nasty GOP fight amid fears it could cost Senate majority

• Republican Rep. Doug Collins’ Senate campaign in Georgia has prompted a raging intraparty fight leading to the departure of some of his top political advisers and recriminations with the Senate GOP’s main campaign arm.

• The National Republican Senatorial Committee is accusing Collins of running against Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican incumbent appointed by the governor, out of his own “selfish” interests — while raising alarms that the bid has jeopardized the party’s chances to hold onto two GOP seats and made it harder for President Donald Trump to carry the Peach State in the fall.

• Caught in the middle are a host of influential GOP strategists who have worked for Collins in the past but are reticent in getting caught up in a nasty battle that could hurt Republicans’ chances at keeping control of the Senate majority.

• The internecine warfare has GOP leaders increasingly worried that the Georgia race is one of their two biggest vulnerabilities as they seek to hang onto the Senate majority in the fall, according to multiple officials.

• The unusual setup of the special election has alarmed Senate Republicans because, they argue, multiple GOP candidates could split the electorate and elect a Democrat in November.

• Republicans worry that a bitter battle between Loeffler and Collins will divide their voters and make it easier for the Democratic candidate to secure a majority vote in the fall.

• And there are fears that the nasty party fight could spill over to Perdue’s race — and undercut his ability to secure an outright win in November.

• The GOP divide has given Democrats’ new hope in the state, whose changing demographics and rapidly growing population could help them win not only its first Senate seat in Georgia in 20 years, but also pick up a few House seats and even the White House.

WSJ: GOP Fight Over Georgia Senate Seat Intensifies

• An intraparty Republican fight over a Georgia Senate seat is intensifying, as campaign vendors face pressure not to work with a congressman trying to unseat the state’s newly appointed senator.

• Some Republicans worry that a divisive fight would hurt the party’s prospects against the Democratic nominee in November.

• In November, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Kemp and Ms. Loeffler met quietly with Mr. Trump, but the meeting didn’t go well.

• The president pressed for Mr. Collins, who had applied for the job, to be the appointee. Mr. Kemp, for whom Mr. Trump campaigned in 2018, appointed Ms. Loeffler anyway.

• The NRSC has blasted Rep. Collins’s decision to run as selfish.

• The GOP split opens the door for a possible Democratic win in November.

The Week: Republican officials are playing hardball against GOP Rep. Doug Collins in Georgia Senate race

• The Republican Party did not respond positively to Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) waging a primary challenge against Sen. Kelly Laoeffler (R-Ga.), who was appointed to the seat by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last December and has to defend it in a special election in November.

• The Club for Growth has put $3 million into TV and digital ads targeting Collins most recently as a fiscal spendthrift.

• The big endorsement is Trump’s, though, and so far he has remained neutral.

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