With early voting opening the next morning, Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins spent much of Sunday's Georgia Senate GOP primary debate attacking each other's ethics records, while a RealClear polling average shows Collins holding a lead of roughly 31% to Carter's 18% and Derek Dooley's 12% among Republican primary voters. The debate, hosted by the Atlanta Press Club's Loudermilk-Young series at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Midtown Atlanta, was the last major televised forum before the May 19 Republican primary. Dooley, the third candidate in the top tier, largely let the two congressmen brawl.
Carter Goes After Collins on Ethics; Collins Fires Back on Net Worth
Carter spent the most pointed moments of the debate hammering Collins over a House Ethics Committee investigation. According to NBC News, the Office of Congressional Conduct issued a report finding "there is substantial reason to believe Rep. Collins used congressional resources for unofficial or otherwise unauthorized purposes," specifically allegations that Collins paid his former chief of staff for campaign work and employed that aide's girlfriend, who did not perform work for the office. Collins has called the complaint "bogus."
Collins did not absorb the hits quietly. He turned the exchange back on Carter, questioning Carter's own ethics record and the growth of his net worth during his time in Congress, according to the Georgia Recorder's debate coverage. The Collins campaign has been equally aggressive off the debate stage: a spokesman told NBC News that Carter's attacks are "a sad attempt to salvage one of the worst return on investment campaigns Georgia's ever seen."
The ethics exchange was the sharpest moment in a debate that was otherwise focused on electability against Sen. Jon Ossoff, healthcare, and abortion. On abortion, Dooley said he supports leaving decisions to the states and backed Georgia's existing heartbeat bill, while stopping short of calling for federal action.
Dooley Plays the Outsider, but the Polls Haven't Moved
Dooley's strategy Sunday was to stay out of the crossfire and let the two incumbents damage each other. The Georgia Recorder reported that Dooley avoided naming his opponents directly, instead criticizing Congress broadly: "We've seen a rise in careerism. We've seen a rise in corruption, but mostly it's the inaction, where we're yelling and screaming, and we're not working together to deliver results for the people of Georgia."
The argument is consistent with his campaign's core pitch. Dooley's first TV ad casts him as a "conservative outsider" drawing on 30 years as a football coach. Gov. Brian Kemp, who declined to run himself, has been stumping for Dooley across metro Atlanta. But Kemp's popularity has not yet translated to the polls: an Emerson survey released last month put Dooley at roughly 10%, trailing Collins at 30% and Carter at 16%, with 40% of Republican primary voters still undecided.
That undecided pool is the race's central variable. With no candidate close to 50%, a June 16 runoff between the top two finishers is widely expected.
