Georgia Rep. Doug Collins would not dismiss the idea of pursuing a seat in the United States Senate in 2020.
Collins, a Republican who is known for his spirited demeanor in Congress, was recently considered to replace outgoing Sen. Johnny Isakson. Though he was heavily supported by President Trump as the replacement, Georgia Gov. Kemp instead appointed Kelly Loeffler to replace Isakson for the next 11 months.
Following Loeffler’s stint, Isakson’s seat will face a special election that will determine who will represent Georgia in the Senate until 2022. Despite Kemp’s choice of Loeffler, Collins has not rejected the idea of running for the senate in that election. “We’ll make a statement, or we’ll deal with that after the fact. I’m not … ruling it out,” Collins said during an interview on NPR on Thursday.
Collins also said, however, that he is too consumed with the ongoing impeachment efforts against Trump to seriously consider seeking office in the upper chamber of Congress. “I’m just simply stating a fact of where we’re at right now,” he said. “For my constituents, the state of Georgia and the country, I’m in a position right now that has historical lights on it. I cannot be distracted from whatever I have to do up here to anything else.”
Kemp rebuked Trump by choosing Loeffler over Collins but explained his decision as being a way to reach out to voters lost by Republican Party in Georgia. Prior to Loeffler’s appointment, Collins had expressed that he was “strongly” considering a run for Isakson’s seat.
