Kemp Backs Mike Collins After Supporting Collins' Primary Rival

Brian Kemp didn’t exactly glide into this endorsement. He spent real time and real political capital boosting Mike Collins’s primary rival, and now he’s out front calling Collins a “businessman and commonsense leader.” That whiplash is the kind of thing voters notice, and not in a flattering way. But politics is what it is, and Georgia Republicans have a job to do this fall. Unity is nice, winning is necessary.

The more interesting question is why Kemp felt the need to plant a flag so late. If Collins is the right guy to take on Jon Ossoff, say it early and help build a clean runway. If you’re going to wage a primary fight, do it and own it. Don’t pretend nobody saw the earlier barnstorming for the other team. Endorsements land better when they look like judgment, not paperwork.

Still, we’re not going to pretend the big story here is hurt feelings inside the GOP. The big story is Ossoff, a reliable vote for Biden’s agenda, running again in a state that’s sick of Washington spending, lecturing, and losing control of basic governance. Kemp calling Collins “commonsense” is a start, but it has to translate into money, turnout, and a clear argument to swing voters. Ossoff is the target, not yesterday’s primary.

Collins should take the endorsement, thank Kemp, and get right back to talking about jobs, the border, and inflation, in plain English. Kemp, for his part, should do more than post a quote and move on. If he wants credit for “falling in line,” he can earn it the old-fashioned way: show up, raise the resources, and help carry Georgia over the line. Voters don’t grade on internal party etiquette. They grade on results.