Last night marked the very first GOP U.S. Senate debate of the primary and only “MAGA warrior” Buddy Carter and little known candidate Jonathan McCollum cared to show up. MAGA extremist Mike Collins and failed and fired former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley failed to show up and instead took to the sidelines, a position Dooley knows far too well.
(Carter, left. McCollum, right)
The empty podiums on the stage came as the Washington Post reported that Georgia Republicans are “lamenting their bitterly divided primary field” that has been defined by infighting and personal attacks, some of which came from Mike Collins publicly going after Carter and Dooley hours before the debate.
Read recent reporting on the messy primary below:
Daily Caller: Georgia Senate Primary Heats Up As Rep. Buddy Carter Blasts Rivals’ Records
By: Ashley Brasfield | March 20, 2026
- Republican Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter called out his opponents in Georgia’s GOP Senate primary race.
- Carter first pointed to Dooley’s voting record. “If he were running in the state of Tennessee he wouldn’t be eligible,” Carter alleged. He also claimed that Dooley has voted only once in the past two decades, describing him as a “nice guy” who lacked political experience.
- Derek Dooley Spokesman, Connor Whitney, alleged to the Daily Caller that Carter is willing to misrepresent opponents to hold onto power.
- “Career politicians like Buddy Carter will say and do anything to stay in power — including lie about their opponents […]”
- Carter then addressed Collins in the interview, outlining what he views as vulnerabilities in a potential general election matchup against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
- “You go to Mike Collins colleague no question about that but you got baggage. I’m sorry. Two ethics complaints right now against him, that’s significant with the House of Representatives bipartisan committee—three Republicans, three Democrats, the votes 6 to 0 in both of those,” Carter alleged.
- A Collins spokesperson, Corbin Keown, fired back at Carter’s comments regarding an ongoing House review.
- “Squeaker, as they call him in Savannah, is in the middle of a tallest midget contest right now for last place and should focus accordingly because even when spending three times the field, he’s coming up short,” Keown told the Caller in a statement.