Key Senate Race Is Already Blowing Up in Trump’s Face

Multiple Republican governors have endorsed a candidate in the race—and it’s not who Donald Trump backs.

Georgia Republicans are snubbing Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Senate.

A cadre of conservative mayors in the Peach State have opted to publicly back Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff rather than get behind Trump-endorsed Representative Mike Collins.

Those mayors include Gail Fry of Toccoa, James Matheson of Valdosta, and Julie Smith of Tifton. The key to their successful bipartisan relationship with Ossoff rests in the senator’s attentiveness to Georgia’s myriad communities.

In an interview with The Daily Beast published Wednesday, Fry explained that—despite voting against Ossoff six years ago—she’s come to appreciate his responsiveness.

“We have gotten more support from Senator Ossoff than any other office that we’ve contacted,” Fry said, citing a multimillion-dollar federal grant that Ossoff secured for natural gas infrastructure in her city. “He calls us and says, ‘What do you need?’”

The others listed similar experiences with the liberal lawmaker.

“I don’t have to track him down. He tracks me down,” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. “He’s been very good to South Georgia, and in my nonpartisan role as mayor, I have to look to someone who takes care of their constituents. I’m a Republican, but there are times when a person exceeds the party. They go above and beyond.”

Matheson—who described himself as a “hard-core conservative”—told the Journal-Constitution that he expects to “take heat” for endorsing Ossoff, but “it doesn’t matter.”

“There’s no way I can turn my back on this relationship,” Matheson explained. “The voters put me in here to do a job, and that man has been absolutely incredible.”

Trump, meanwhile, has spent inordinate amounts of time online, dividing the American public with his polarizing opinions rather than trying to build similar relationships across the country. The president has practically thrown his entire election cycle playbook at Ossoff, using his enormous platform to lob personal attacks against the 39-year-old. On Truth Social, the president has taken to mocking Ossoff’s looks and name, referring to him as “Os(jerk!)off” and comparing Ossoff to comedian Pee-Wee Herman and Alfred E. Neuman, the fictitious mascot of Mad Magazine.

Dozens of Republicans Aren’t Bothering With Trump’s Midterm Convention

At least 45 lawmakers cited a variety of reasons for skipping the so-called “Trump-a-palooza.”

Republicans are steering clear of the upcoming GOP convention for fear that Donald Trump’s big mouth might hurt them in November.

A Politico survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and party members found that most were not planning to attend the two-day function that begins September 9. Others were still debating whether they should be there. Dozens more refused to disclose their plans.

The Dallas-based event will be the first GOP midterm convention in American history. Trump and Vice........

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