Georgia Republican candidates hoping to beat Jon Ossoff spar in debate

Eyes across the country will be watching Georgia this month as a slate of Republican candidates vie for a chance to go against Democrat Jon Ossoff for his seat in the U.S. Senate.

Early voting in the midterm primaries starts Monday in Georgia, and voters were given a chance to see all the Republican hopefuls on one stage at the Atlanta Press Club debates Sunday.

They all had the same message for voters — I'm the one who can beat Jon Ossoff in November.

The Republican candidate will need to play catchup as Democrats have momentum going into the midterms following a competitive showing in Georgia's 14th congressional district, and Ossoff has consistently polled higher than any of the Republican challengers. Ossoff is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The Republican candidates are Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, John Coyne, Derek Dooley and Jonathan McColumn, and during the debate they answered questions about healthcare, affordability, "America First" ideology, the current administration and more.

Who are the Republican candidates for US Senate?

Five contenders are hoping for Republican votes in Georgia, and none have been endorsed by President Trump, as of Monday.

Derek Dooley, however, has received a high-powered endorsement by sitting Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican who has served two terms and cannot run again.

Dooley is a former football coach and son of University of Georgia legendary coach Vince Dooley, of whom the field in Athens is now named. Dooley grew up in Athens before playing football and attending the University of Virginia. He then earned his law degree at the University of Georgia and practiced in Atlanta before leaving the legal field to go into coaching. Notably, he spent a portion of his professional career coaching at the University of Tennessee, a Georgia rival. He considers himself a political outsider and says he can bring his coaching experience to Congress.

Dooley trails in the polls to Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, both established Georgia Republicans.

Collins currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia's 10th congressional district, and worked as a business owner and entrepreneur before going into politics. He was a driving force behind the TRANQ Act under the Biden Administration and the Laken Riley Act under President Trump. Collins has been a staunch Trump supporter since 2016 and continues to call on the MAGA base in Georgia for support.

Buddy Carter is hoping for the same votes as he also claims the "America First" narrative for his campaign. Carter serves in the U.S. House for the first congressional district in coastal Georgia, and has been in Congress for more than a decade. He calls himself a "MAGA warrior" and has voted consistently along party lines.

The three leading candidates — Collins, Carter and Dooley — were joined on stage by John Coyne and Jonathan McColumn, hoping to win the primary from behind.

Coyne is a real estate developer and longtime candidate who has been running with little success for the Senate for the better part of a decade. He is more of a centrist, and even ran as Democrat in 2016.

McColumn is a retired Brigadier General and clergyman from Warner Robins, Georgia. He has supported the military campaign in Iran and is vocal about gender issues through the lens of religion. He has also said he would like healthcare to be "available" for all, parting from his fellow Republican candidates.

Poll leaders Carter and Collins spar in debate

After months of attacks online and through ads, Carter and Collins went head-to-head in the debate.

During a section when the candidates could ask their own questions to one of their competitors, Carter asked Collins "if taxpayers can't trust you to properly steward their money, how can they trust you to be an U.S. Senator?", referencing an ongoing ethics investigation of Collins that was mentioned earlier in the debate.

"You know Buddy, I can tell through the voice you know how polling is going out there," Collins responded. "This is a total nothing-burger, this anonymous complaint that anyone can file. But I find it ironic that a career politician is talking about ethics, and your career has been littered with complaints, crooked land deals, you've even tripled your net worth."

Collins then took on Carter's voting record.

"I also find it very embarrassing Buddy that you're out there campaigning as a conservative but you vote as a liberal," Collins said. "I mean you voted for gun confiscation and for amnesty for illegals. So if you want a conservative, he's not your 'buddy'."

"Thanks for not answering the question," Carter began his rebuttal. "Mike, the truth is that this is a bipartisan committee, the ethics committee, you know it's made up of ten people, five Republicans and five Democrats, and they voted unanimously to move forward with this. Mike, if you're our candidate, we lose. You're under federal investigation. I'm telling you, Democrats will eat that up, and we (Republicans) will lose again."

Collins came back at Carter saying the the ethics committee "hasn't even taken it up" before the debate moved on.

Coyne chimed in briefly to say campaigns now were "like a war," compared to when he ran previously and "never said anything negative" about his opponents.

Candidates keep focus on Ossoff

While the Republicans first have to compete with one another, the candidates were looking forward at the upcoming race against incumbent Jon Ossoff.

The Republicans included digs at Ossoff in their opening remarks, in their answers and in their final messages to voters.

Because Ossoff is running unopposed in the primary, he will not be on a debate stage until he faces his Republican opponent at a later date, and could not answer any of the remarks made about his term.

When asked about claims made in the debate, Democratic Party of Georgia Senior Communications Advisor Devon Cruz told USA TODAY the Republicans were professing "how loyal and obedient they would be to Donald Trump in the U.S. Senate."

"From backing his illegal, price-hiking tarrifs, to gutting affordable health care, all three of these fools are already bending the knee to Trump's harmful MAGA agenda," Cruz said. "Georgians deserve so much better than that and we'll make sure Carter, Collins, and Dooley don't get anywhere near a U.S. Senate seat."

Where can I watch the debate?

Voters can watch the full Republican Senate debate below, or on the Atlanta Press Club Debate YouTube page.

Irene Wright covers the midterm races in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].