AJC: “Georgia Republican Senate candidates dueling to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff have so far remained loyal to Trump’s line”

Atlanta, Ga. — Despite a growing number of Republican elected officials and candidates coming out to break with the Trump Administration over its egregious violations of American civil liberties, new reporting in the AJC reveals that Republican U.S. Senate candidates Derek Dooley, Buddy Carter, and Mike Collins have “so far remained loyal to Trump’s line.”

This week, Senator Ossoff has pressed his opponents, including urging Dooley, Carter, and Collins to call for a full, independent investigation into Alex Pretti’s killing: “Will one, even ONE, Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia join other GOP leaders who are calling for a full, transparent, independent investigation into Alex Pretti’s killing in Minnesota?” said U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff. 

Reporting in recent days has underscored that the Republican coalition is fracturing over the unconstitutional infringement of civil liberties, with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board saying: “This is backfiring against Republicans… Americans don’t want law enforcement shooting people in the street or arresting five-year-old boys. The President who said you have to have a heart in enforcement ought to show some.”

AJC: Trump’s immigration tactics in Minnesota test Georgia Senate GOP hopefuls
By Greg Bluestein | January 28, 2026

KEY POINTS:

• As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis intensified, Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter called for a surge of federal agents in Georgia.

• Shortly after federal agents shot and killed a protester whose death has sparked days of outrage, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins amplified a former Atlanta Braves player’s tweet declaring: “Less talk … more handcuffs.”

• And former football coach Derek Dooley embraced Trump’s approach as “common sense,” praising what he described as a corrective to “the reckless open border policies of the Biden administration.”

• A growing number of congressional Republicans and GOP leaders are urging caution about the administration’s hard-edged enforcement approach, reflecting growing outrage that extends beyond the usual partisan pushback.

• But Georgia Republican Senate candidates dueling to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff have so far remained loyal to Trump’s line, highlighting a central dilemma for GOP hopefuls eager to harness his base’s support even if it risks alienating a broader swath of voters.

• As each jockeys for Trump’s endorsement — and the support of his core supporters — none have shown a willingness to break with him […]

• “My opponents have a clear choice: Do they stand with Trump or with Americans’ constitutional rights?” Ossoff said. “I challenge each of them to condemn and demand an end to the Trump administration chaos that is undermining Americans’ core civil liberties” […]

• Ossoff and Warnock have both pledged to vote against the appropriations bills unless funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is removed or civil liberties protections are added.

• So far, Republicans have shown little willingness to accept either demand. But cracks are emerging as a growing number of GOP senators publicly break with the Trump administration’s approach ahead of Friday’s government funding deadline.

• “What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they’re describing this,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “That immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing, that we took out a violent terrorist.”

• But Ossoff’s three top Senate rivals haven’t budged […]

• Meanwhile, Republicans are increasingly acknowledging mounting warning signs after a shooting that seemed to have broken through the usual informational clutter. A new Reuters poll showed support for Trump’s immigration policies hit a record low, with just 39% approving while 53% disapprove […]