Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) will launch a bid against appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) in the coming days, according to multiple reports, setting up a party showdown that threatens to split Republicans across the state.
Collins has begun lining up campaign staff and reaching out to politicians to inform them of his decision, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The traditionally red Senate seat in the battleground state was previously held by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who resigned in December last year due to health concerns.
President Trump and close allies repeatedly lobbied Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint Collins to the newly vacant seat, believing that the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee would be a reliable ally in the Senate.
Kemp, however, ultimately went with Loeffler, a major GOP donor who Politico reports has pledged to spend $20 million of her own money to fund her 2020 Senate race.
The Georgia governor found himself in a feud with Trump over his pick, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave the newest Senate Republican his full backing, saying in December that she would have “total support from the Republican conference.”
Collins’ decision to run will complicate the special primary election in November. Under the state’s current election law, candidates of any party can participate.
If no single candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the two top performers, regardless of their party, will face each other in a January runoff.
If infighting between Collins and Loeffler during the race becomes too heated, the two could provide an opening for a Democrat to stand a chance at taking the traditionally GOP seat.
Georgia has veered more into battleground territory in recent years. Kemp only narrowly beat Democrat Stacey Abrams in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race with 50.2 percent of the vote.
A spokesperson for Loeffler was not immediately available for comment.