As is well known, Georgia senator Johnny Isakson resigned in December due to health issues.  He never should have run for re-election in 2016, but that's another matter.  He had three years left in his term, and Governor Brian Kemp solicited applications from Georgians to fill his seat for 2020.  Kemp received hundreds of applications, one of which was from Representative Doug Collins, of my congressional district  —  the Georgia 9th.  Collins was President Trump's choice to replace Isakson.  The president reportedly asked Governor Kemp on several occasions to appoint Collins to the Senate, but Kemp bucked the president and chose political outsider and multimillionaire businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, co-owner of the WNBA team the Atlanta Dream.

Loeffler will serve as senator during 2020, and then there will be a special election this November in which the voters will choose who will serve the last two years of Isakson's term. Georgia has a strange way of electing replacements to Congress when there's an opening mid-term.  All of the qualifying candidates will be on the ballot in November — Democrats, Republicans, and independents — a "jungle" election.  If no one receives a majority of the votes, the top two will face a runoff in January to decide the winner.  Some of our state legislators attempted to pass legislation to enact a primary and avoid the jungle vote so the parties could unite behind their one candidate, but Governor Kemp threatened to veto the measure.  The change would likely have favored Collins instead of Kemp's pick, Loeffler.  As of today, there are five declared Rpublicans in the race (Collins and Loeffler are the most notable), five Democrats, and one independent.

I don't always agree with Doug Collins's voting record, and in fact, I helped to manage my uncle's congressional campaign when he ran against Doug in the GOP primaries in 2012 and 2016.  However, one thing that I love about Doug is that he has been an absolute bulldog when it comes to supporting and defending President Trump during the impeachment nonsense.  He seems to have Trump's back wholeheartedly, and that goes a long way in my book.  Doug also has an established record of protecting the unborn, defending our 2nd Amendment rights, and exposing the corruption that infects those who are opposed to the truth.  He is a proven commodity, he is honorable, and I believe we can trust him to stand on conservative principles as long as he serves in Congress.

From a peek into her past, it appears that Loeffler is no reliable conservative.  She uses the correct talking points now, but what I've been reading lately from some trusted friends who know the politics of Georgia quite well is that she's a "globalist," along the lines of the George Bushes and Mitt Romney, or worse.  She must like RINO Romney an awful lot, because she gave him $750,000 when he was running for president in 2012.  Tellingly, she gave $0 to President Trump's 2016 campaign.

Reportedly, two main reasons why Governor Kemp appointed Loeffler over Collins are 1. She can pour millions of her own dollars into her re-election campaign, and 2. He hopes she will attract female voters who have supposedly left the party.  Those seem like pretty superficial reasons for choosing a senator.  I don't trust Kelly Loeffler to be the true conservative she needs to be once the pressure is off and she is sitting comfortably in her Senate seat.  As a woman, I couldn't care less whether my senator is male or female, so Loeffler's sex holds no sway with me.  What matters is whether she is principled, is trustworthy, and has a proven history of supporting conservative values.  I simply don't see that in Kelly Loeffler, who cozies up to the likes of Democrat Stacey Abrams, donates thousands of dollars to democrats like U.S. senators Chris Dodd and Debbie Stabenow and Georgia Representative David Scott and so forth, organizes her basketball team's efforts against Georgia's 2016 religious freedom legislation, and supports Planned Parenthood with revenue from her team's ticket sales.  The WNBA is a terribly liberal organization, so it raises the questions of why and how someone with supposedly strong morals and conservative principles would co-own one of the teams.  Loeffler simply doesn't pass the smell test, in my humble view.

According to a statement from Concerned Women for America in late November, shortly before Governor Kemp announced that Loeffler would assume Isakson's Senate seat:

Governor Kemp needs to know Kelly Loeffler would be the wrong choice for conservatives in Georgia and supporters of President Trump on several fronts.  She sits on the board of a hospital in Atlanta that employs five abortionists and actually runs the largest training program for abortionists in Georgia.  She is also part owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream franchise.  The WNBA has been an outspoken supporter of Planned Parenthood, even partnering with the pro-abortion organization in opposing President Trump's pro-life policies.  Likewise the WNBA has remained disturbingly silent about China's persecution of the citizens of Hong Kong, even after an NBA general manager courageously spoke out about it. Ms. Loeffler also sits on the board of a psychiatric treatment facility that provides transgender affirming counsel to minors.  Likewise she has given thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to liberal and pro-abortion candidates.  There are better choices for Gov. Kemp when it comes to the next U.S. Senator from Georgia.  Gov. Kemp has a list of fantastic pro-life candidates.  We hope he doesn't pick the one the pro-life community will have to oppose.

We can't take chances with something as important as a U.S. Senate seat, and we certainly don't need any more Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski types there.  This position is too important to the future of our nation.  We need someone to represent Georgia who has proven that he will stand for life, biblical marriage, the family, the 2nd Amendment, border security, national sovereignty, religious liberty, and so on.  Governor Brian Kemp disappointed much of his conservative base when he went against President Trump's wishes and chose Kelly Loeffler for U.S. Senate, and we voters need to send a strong message in November that we won't stand for taking risky chances with our Senate seats.

What we absolutely need to avoid in November is splitting the Republican base and ending up with a Democrat senator from Georgia.  Since this is a jungle vote and there is no primary to allow us to choose one candidate, conservatives need to unite behind the only reliable conservative in the race.  Not only does Doug Collins need to win, but he needs a landslide of Republican support.  There needs to be a clear mandate from the base that we want a proven, principled conservative.  Doug Collins needs to defeat Kelly Loeffler so we can keep Georgia solidly, reliably red and maintain the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.

Michelle Thomas is a Christ-follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four.  Her books include Lord, I Need You, Through Deep Waters, and Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World.  Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.

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