Republican Georgia Mayors Back Jon Ossoff Over Trump-Backed Mike Collins

POOL / REUTERS Even Republican mayors aren’t backing President Donald Trump’s pick for Georgia’s U.S.

Senate seat.

Several mayors across Georgia have thrown their weight behind Jon Ossoff, the Democratic star facing the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate, Mike Collins, according to The New York Times .

At least three Republican mayors expressed support for Ossoff as the closely watched race heats up: Gail Fry of Toccoa, James Matheson of Valdosta, and Julie Smith of Tifton.

Fry, the mayor of a city in northeast Georgia with less than 10,000 residents, said she voted against Ossoff when he ran six years ago—but a lot has changed since then.

“We have gotten more support from Sen.

Ossoff than any other office that we’ve contacted,” she told The Times, citing an $8.4 million federal grant that he secured for natural gas infrastructure.

“He calls us and says, ‘What do you need?’” she added.

Matheson and Smith similarly lavished praise for Ossoff in an earlier interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution .

“I don’t have to track him down.

He tracks me down,” Smith said.

“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 described himself as a “hard-core conservative,” but also as a friend of Ossoff.