As this is written, sources in Georgia and Washington D.C. still indicate that U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., is not the choice of Gov. Brian Kemp to be an interim U.S. senator replacing the retiring Johnny Isakson. Prominent Atlanta businesswoman Kelly Loeffler is under serious consideration. The governor accompanied her to Washington last Sunday and met with President Donald Trump, although the president during that meeting also reportedly asked about appointing Collins.
An official Kemp decision is expected to be announced sometime next week and insiders predict another Kemp conversation will take place before then with both the president and Georgia’s other senator David Perdue.
Unfolding this week has been grumbling among some Collins allies accompanied by accusations that Loeffler, who describes herself as “a lifelong Republican,” is too “moderate.”
“I think [Kemp] is trying to appeal to suburban women in the metro area, and he is willing to turn his back on the rural areas that actually put him over the top (in last year’s gubernatorial election),” charges one of the critics, Atlanta Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley. Yet the governor on Wednesday forcefully pushed back on Twitter:
“The idea I would appoint someone to the U.S. Senate that is NOT pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-freedom, and 100% supportive of our President (and his plan to Keep America Great) is ridiculous,” he wrote. “Frankly, I could care less what the political establishment thinks. Happy Thanksgiving! More information after the holiday!”
A main problem Loeffler currently has is that many activists within the statewide GOP base don’t know her or her politics. She’s an outsider who has never run for or held public office. (Some supporters compare her to Perdue, a self-described “outsider” who won both a GOP primary and general election in 2014.) Of course, if Kemp appoints the CEO of the bitcoin trading firm Bakkt, expect an introductory rollout with various endorsements of Republican officials and activists who support the governor’s choice.
The big question political observers are asking: If the governor appoints Loeffler (or someone else at the last minute), how will Collins react? Stay tuned.
A footnote: The interim GOP senator would be on the Nov. 3, 2020 general election ballot in a special contest that would include Democrat candidates and potentially another Republican or Republicans. This is also the same Georgia ballot listing Perdue and the president.
Phil Kent is the CEO & Publisher of InsiderAdvantage Georgia and James magazine.
