“Mike Collins and I share a commitment to making Georgia an even better place to live, work, and raise a family,” Kemp said. “Mike has delivered results as a businessman and commonsense leader in Washington, and that’s what we need in our next senator.”

National Republican leaders tried unsuccessfully to recruit Kemp for Georgia’s nationally watched Senate race. Collins eventually defeated U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and political newcomer Derek Dooley in the GOP Senate primary earlier this year.

Last week, Collins delivered a prime-time speech at a rare midterm Republican national convention in Dallas, Texas, an event that was the brainchild of President Donald Trump.

Georgia’s Senate race has heated up significantly in recent weeks. Ossoff, who came into the midterm cycle already bearing a massive campaign war chest, is outspending Collins on advertisements and overall ground game operations.

Ossoff’s campaign noted Kemp’s endorsement of Dooley in the GOP Senate primary, and said, “there’s a reason Kemp worked so hard to defeat bigot Mike Collins in the GOP primary and waited to endorse the congressman until less than two months from Election Day, and it’s that Collins, who’s only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, is surrounded at work and at home by neo-Nazis and white nationalists.”

Ossoff and Collins have accepted invitations to participate in an exclusive, live debate on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, that will be hosted and broadcasted statewide by Atlanta News First and on Gray Media television stations in all Georgia markets, providing voters statewide with direct access to the candidates.

The debate will be moderated by Atlanta News First anchor Rick Folbaum and will follow a standard format, with a panel of professional journalists asking questions of the candidates on key issues facing Georgia and the nation.

Atlanta News First and Atlanta News First+ provide you with the latest news, headlines and insights as Georgia continues its role at the forefront of the nation’s political scene. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest political news and information.

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