Loeffler emphasizes Trump support; Collins hits the gas in homestretch

ON THE GEORGIA TRAIL

U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler logged more stops on her statewide tour Wednesday, including a visit to Buford’s Bare Bones Steakhouse, where she made no bones about her complete support for President Donald Trump despite his struggles in recent polls.

Along with her standard stump speech talking up her background growing up on a family farm and eventually becoming a business executive, Loeffler also talked up her support for Trump.

“I rank as the most conservative senator in the U.S. Senate,” she told a group of about 50 supporters. “I’m the only U.S. senator that has voted 100% with President Trump.”

Asked at a media availability if there is even a single issue with which she disagrees with the president, Loeffler said no.

“Look, the president, like myself, he’s a political outsider. He’s a businessperson. He’s a conservative champion fighting to put America first. That’s what I went to Washington to do,” she said.

On Trump’s handling of COVID-19, which Trump himself has contracted, Loeffler said: “The president took this seriously from day one.”

Asked about the “Access Hollywood” tape on which he was caught bragging about assaulting women, Loeffler stayed on message. “I agree with the approach President Trump has taken since day one to put America first,” she said.

Unlike U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who is neck and neck in the latest polls with Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff, Loeffler has 20 challengers to fend off — including U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, the 9th District Republican congressman who is locked in a statistical tie for second with Loeffler in the latest polls.

Loeffler and Collins are battling over every GOP vote in the state, leaving each to make the case that he or she is the true conservative and most ardent Trump supporter in the race.

Switching gears

KINGSLAND — In a story earlier this week, we noted that U.S. Rep. Doug Collins is campaigning across the state in his family Ford and a 15-person passenger van for staff following behind. In contrast, U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler — who is running in the same race — has the resources to use her private jet for events further than a few hours away from Atlanta.

Just as Loeffler was taking the stage in Buford on Wednesday, Collins was making his way between campaign stops in South Georgia when the Suburban, which already had 158,000 miles on it, gave out completely.

That meant that Collins and his guest, Carter Page, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, were stranded on the side of I-95 as the Georgia Republican Women’s Club of Brunswick gathered for a meet-and-greet with Collins while the congressman was still many miles away.

A rescue from the Camden County sheriff got Collins back on the campaign trail, but a tow for the truck to a local mechanic didn’t end as well — it’s the end of the road for the Collinses’ Suburban.

‘Last plane out’

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott knows a thing or two about what fellow Republican Kelly Loeffler is experiencing.

Scott was appointed to an open South Carolina U.S. Senate seat in 2013 and won a special election a year later to fill out the remaining two years of the term.

Loeffler is in a similar battle after she was picked by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill an open seat — though she’s facing a much more difficult reelection fight. She’s one of 20 candidates on the ballot, including a fierce GOP challenger in U.S. Rep. Doug Collins.

After stumping with Loeffler at a Doraville taco eatery, Scott said he offered her simple advice:

“I learned not the hard way — but the right way — if you represent your constituents, you put them first, you share their values, they elect you. The same thing will be true for Kelly,” he said.

“The best way to reflect that is make sure you’re on the first plane home, and the last plane out, because that resonates that you want to be home. And the voters will reward her on Tuesday.”