ATLANTA – Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins has endorsed Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black for U.S. Senate.
Black, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock next year, picked up Collins’ support during a campaign event Tuesday at Black’s farm in Commerce.
Collins, R-Gainesville, left Congress last year to run for the Senate in a crowded contest eventually won by Warnock.
“Gary Black is somebody who will stand up for our values in Georgia,” Collins told a crowd of Black’s supporters. “We’re in desperate need of new leadership in Washington, D.C. … We need people who have the integrity Gary Black has.”
In the House, Collins was among the staunchest backers of former President Donald Trump, defending the president during impeachment hearings the House held in late 2019.
At Trump’s urging, University of Georgia football great Herschel Walker jumped into the Senate race last week. But that didn’t dissuade Collins from endorsing Black.
“I don’t care who else is running,” Collins said Tuesday. “I support Gary Black.”
The event at Black’s farm drew nearly 400 attendees and included a speech by former Gov. Nathan Deal, who endorsed Black in July.
Georgia Public Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald also spoke, and U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, spoke to the audience by phone from Washington.