Republicans are bracing for what could be another brutal primary as they look to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) next year.

Former football coach Derek Dooley and Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Mike Collins (R-Ga.) have all launched bids for the Republican nod to take on Ossoff. Not long after Dooley — who’s seen as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) preferred candidate — entered the race, the two congressmen quickly trained their fire on the political outsider.

The early friction underscores the tall task ahead of Republicans: avoiding a messy primary that leaves the nominee bruised and battered heading into the general election, while also dodging a major clash between Kemp and President Trump, who has yet to weigh in on his preferred candidate.

“As Republican strategists, we're always concerned that we're better at eating our own than winning in November,” said Heath Garrett, a friend of Dooley’s since law school who is not involved in the campaign, “and so, we also have to balance that with the reality that voters want a choice.”

“But can we mitigate the collateral damage so that we can all still win in November?” Garrett added.

Dooley, whose father is former University of Georgia football coach and Georgia icon Vince Dooley, became the latest entry in the Republican contest to take on Ossoff when he launched his campaign for Senate earlier this month.

The younger Dooley has leaned hard into his own football background, best known for his time coaching at University of Tennessee, while touting himself as a political outsider. More importantly, he’s seen as Kemp’s preferred pick in the race after the governor declined an opportunity to run himself despite much courting from his party.

A source close to the campaign told The Hill that Dooley has visited at least 16 counties since his launch, saying there was a “really, really positive response to him entering the race.”

Carter so far has a financial edge in the race with more cash on hand than........

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