OPINION:
The two candidates for U.S. Senate in Georgia could hardly be more different, both in their presentations and their policies.
Voters will choose between two very different views of the world in a race that is emerging as emblematic of the larger midterm election clash of the political parties.
Republican Mike Collins, who was elected in 2022 to represent Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, was endorsed by President Trump and won a primary runoff this week over former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.
Mr. Collins, a successful businessman who founded a trucking company, speaks with an easy Georgia drawl you can imagine coming from a CB radio on a long-haul 18-wheeler.
The incumbent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, is a Hollywood-connected former documentary filmmaker who is scripted and focus-grouped — the sort of glossy politician the online left swoons for. There is little doubt that Mr. Ossoff sees a future president in the mirror every morning.
In addition to personality and presentation, the two differ sharply on policies that matter to voters.
Mr. Collins, whose campaign my public affairs firm advises, describes himself as a workhorse and embraces the Republican agenda of lower taxes, less regulation, immigration enforcement and common sense on the safety of girls and women.
He is also unique in that he sponsored two bipartisan pieces of legislation, both signed into law by presidents from different political parties. This demonstrates that he can actually accomplish things by working with people from all walks of life.
Mr. Ossoff, meanwhile, cynically tries to cultivate an image as a moderate back in Georgia. In reality, he is a reliable vote for the radical agenda of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
Most Americans are not on board with that leftist national agenda. Democrats are on the wrong side of the issue of affordability, which will be at the forefront of many voters’ minds.
As is typical for members of his party, Mr. Ossoff voted for President Biden’s legislation that supercharged inflation and raised taxes on middle-class families by $20 billion. He cheered the Biden attacks on the American energy sector, which deliberately drove up the price of fuel in adherence to leftist climate ideology.
He also voted against the Trump tax cuts and against relief for every American taxpayer.
Conversely, Mr. Collins voted for the president’s historic tax relief, eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits. He supports an aggressive domestic energy policy to continue fueling American dominance globally and lower prices.
He has also sponsored the PERMIT Act, which cuts red tape for infrastructure and housing to dramatically reduce costs. That bill has passed the House and awaits action by the Senate.
If the conversation is specifically about gasoline prices, Republicans have a winning argument. The context is important.
Democrats increased gas prices intentionally during the Biden years because they saw high fuel prices as a desirable climate policy goal. By contrast, prices have spiked recently because the United States has been crippling Iran, the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. The war has temporarily roiled international markets.
Once the Strait of Hormuz is cleared, as should happen with the peace deal, prices will fall again.
Immigration enforcement is of particular salience in Georgia after the 2024 murder of nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal alien. Incredibly, Mr. Ossoff initially voted against a public safety bill named for Riley and for amnesty for masses of illegal aliens.
He also voted for releasing violent criminals back into communities and allowing sanctuary cities to continue defying federal law.
Again, in contrast, Mr. Collins wrote the Laken Riley Act and watched Mr. Trump sign it into law. The bill helps protect communities from violent, criminal illegal aliens who prey on American citizens.
Proving that he is a leftist in good standing, Mr. Ossoff voted repeatedly to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports, supported men using women’s restrooms and fought to force domestic violence shelters to accept biological men who claim to be women.
These may be popular ideas with the fringe left, but they are not anywhere near mainstream thought in most of the country.
Mr. Collins has fought to protect women and girls from men trying to invade their spaces.
These are all points specific to the Senate contest in Georgia, but the same things could be said about many races in many places — House and Senate — in these midterm elections.
In competitive races, Democrats will be seen as in line with their radical national leaders and out of step with the people of their own states. It has become easier by the day to believe that if these issues remain relevant through November, the midterm elections could go quite well for Republicans — in Georgia and elsewhere.
• Tim Murtaugh is a Washington Times columnist and founder of Line Drive Public Affairs. He served as a senior adviser on the 2024 Trump campaign and as communications director on the 2020 Trump campaign.
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