NEW: GOP Intraparty Battle Heats Up As Ralston Breaks Ranks to Support Collins

Loeffler and Collins’ expensive firefight flares up as polling shows each trailing Democrats

ATLANTA — Today, as unelected “political mega-donor” Senator Kelly Loeffler continues pouring her millions into the race to save her flailing campaign, Republicans’ brutal intraparty fight continued to heat up as “one of Georgia’s most powerful Republican leaders” Speaker David Ralston became the latest official “breaking ranks” to support top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins.

While Loeffler has tried (and failed) to consolidate Republican support, Collins has made sure that “the Republican-on-Republican feud has divided Georgia GOP circles into separate camps” — pushing the GOP into an expensive and brutal fight right when it can least afford it.

After her stock trading scandal, Loeffler has tried to fight back against Collins by dumping millions into defending her bought-and-paid-for seat — even as her own allies go off the air. Collins has responded by airing his own attacks against Loeffler that have resulted in ethics complaints from both parties as he struggles with his own campaign.

And while Collins and Loeffler have run their scorched-earth race “that is poised to put Georgia in play for Democrats,” political experts have responded by moving the race away from the GOP as both Collins and Loeffler are trailing Democrats in head-to-head match-ups

“Speaker David Ralston’s endorsement of Congressman Doug Collins is just the latest sign that Republicans are stuck fighting an expensive and brutal war between two weak candidates,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Instead of focusing on important issues for Georgians in the middle of a global pandemic and recession, both Collins and Senator Kelly Loeffler are fixated on their toxic intraparty fight that leaves Georgia Democrats as the only winner.”

Read more about Republicans’ latest defection: 

AJC: House Speaker David Ralston endorses Doug Collins in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race

• State House Speaker David Ralston endorsed U.S. Rep. Doug Collins on Thursday, giving his U.S. Senate campaign support from one of Georgia’s most powerful Republican leaders in a move that could clear the way for other state legislators to rally behind his bid.

• It was the latest break between Ralston and Gov. Brian Kemp, who appointed Loeffler to the job in December and has been her most zealous defender.

• The Collins-Loeffler fight has sharply divided Georgia Republicans at a time when Democrats are aiming to upend GOP control of the state.

• Meanwhile, the Republican-on-Republican feud has divided Georgia GOP circles into separate camps.

• Ralston added that he won’t be “cajoling people to support him or getting mad at people who don’t,” though he indicated other lawmakers may soon follow suit.

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