GOP “Inner-Party Wrangling” Heats Up as “Underdog” Loeffler Loses More Support

July 9, 2020

Loeffler, Collins battle for the base as both candidates face “an energized Democratic electorate” in battleground Georgia

ATLANTA — Georgia Republicans’ troubles aren’t ending anytime soon. After Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black yesterday became the latest statewide elected official “breaking ranks” with unelected “political mega-donor” Senator Kelly Loeffler to support top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins, the GOP’s “inner-party wrangling” keeps ramping up with a new New York Times report today outlining the “uneasy relationship” within the Georgia GOP.

As Loeffler has continued to lose support while Collins keeps lurching as far right as possible, both Republicans have grown increasingly out of touch with Georgia voters. Both Collins and Loeffler are now trailing Democratic candidates in head-to-head match-ups as political experts move the race in Democrats’ favor. And the Trump campaign and the NRSC are already buying up early ad time as polls and ratings changes show “warning signs” that President Donald Trump is falling behind former Vice President Joe Biden. Now, with each candidate “facing an energized Democratic electorate” alongside their scorched-earth campaigns, it’s clear that Georgia Republicans are looking at a rough road ahead in 2020.

Read the highlights about Georgia Republicans’ “uneasy relationship” in this election:

NYT: Republican Senators in Arizona and Georgia Have a Problem: The Base

  • This November, the uneasy relationship between the most right-wing voters in the Republican Party and the statewide lawmakers who rely on their votes will burst into the open.
  • In Georgia, many grass-roots conservatives are still bitter that Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Ms. Loeffler over Mr. Collins to the Senate in 2019 in what they say was a sop to the state’s Republican business and consultant class.
  • Many Republican candidates face a perplexing electoral landscape this year, given that Mr. Trump’s conduct has endeared him to the party’s most conservative groups, but has soured some suburban moderates and seniors who are vital parts of any swing state coalition.
  • With Mr. Trump on the ballot this year, it will be even harder for candidates to paper over the differences, and the uneasy relationship between the party’s most right-wing voters and the statewide Republicans like Ms. Loeffler and Ms. McSally who rely on their votes is bursting into the open.
  • Polling also shows that Ms. Loeffler and Ms. McSally are underdogs in their respective races, facing an energized Democratic electorate in addition to their inner-party wrangling.
  • The extreme wealth of Ms. Loeffler, who has a net worth in the hundreds of millions and is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, has become an issue in her race, particularly since she faced criticism for stock transactions that coincided with the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

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