Overview
- Rep. Buddy Carter launched the race’s first attack ad, airing a $2 million spot that highlights an ethics probe into Rep. Mike Collins for allegedly misusing congressional resources, which Collins’ team calls a bogus complaint.
- Ad spending has tilted toward Carter, who has booked $5.5 million on the air, while Derek Dooley has spent about $519,000 and Collins roughly $170,000, mostly online, according to AdImpact.
- Derek Dooley is up with his first TV ads as a self-styled conservative outsider, while Gov. Brian Kemp’s allied super PAC has added support, signaling an in-party split from MAGA-branded Carter and Collins.
- Collins touts a recent $1 million fundraising haul as he claims frontrunner status, Carter reports $3.7 million on hand boosted by a $3 million loan, and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff sits on $31.7 million for November.
- Recent polling from a GOP-aligned firm shows Ossoff ahead of Collins by 7 points and Carter by 9 points, with earlier Emerson data also putting him in front, and the three-way GOP fight raises the odds of a June 16 runoff under Georgia law that could sap Republican resources.