Mike Collins

Several Republican candidates for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat spoke at a Chatham Area Republican Women club event.

Top polling candidates, Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, emphasized their support for Donald Trump and "America first" policies.

Carter highlighted his long public service record, while Collins pointed to his ability to unite different Republican voter blocs.

{This story was updated to correct a misspelling.}

Two of the top three polling candidates in Georgia’s U.S. Senate Republican primary made their pitch to the Chatham Area Republican Women club Wednesday, stumping on their support for President Donald Trump and qualities that make them the best candidate in a field with multiple candidates.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons) and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) touted their congressional records as progressing “America first” policies and supporting Trump’s agenda. Two other candidates, Christina Clement and retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Jonathan McColumn, also spoke at the event.

There are three candidates polling above the others in the race, with Carter and Collins joined by Derek Dooley, who is backed by Gov. Brian Kemp. Collins has led the polls, including a recent March poll that had him around 30%, according to the New York Times poll tracker. Carter has been in second in most polls, hovering around 10% to 20%, with Dooley often coming in third at round 10% to 12%.

Dooley was not able to make the event due to a previous campaign commitment in a different part of the state, the campaign said in an email to the Savannah Morning News.

The top-two candidates at Wednesday’s event showed broad consensus on issues such as immigration, support for Trump, and criticism for current seat holder Sen. Jon Ossoff. Both Collins and Carter called for Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expressed support for deportation of criminal, undocumented immigrants.

But the two candidates diverged in their pitches for what makes them the best candidate. Carter, who represents the Savannah area in the House and is a former Pooler mayor, said the voters in the room can trust his track record.

“Guys, you know me,” he said. “… I will never embarrass you. I haven't embarrassed you in the 26 years I've been in public service, and I will not embarrass you.”

“We need to put our best player on the field, the one who's going to win, because every one of the candidates will agree the main thing is to beat Jon Ossoff,” Carter said.

Collins touted his ability to turn out what he said are two key Republican voting blocs: Trump’s Make America Great Again base and voters who “just want people to go get something done.” Collins cited his MAGA bona fides such as maxing out campaign donations to Trump since 2016, while also pointing to bipartisan legislation he spearheaded like the Laken Riley Act.

“There is a reason that we have been ahead in the polls since we got in this thing,” Collins said. “It’s because we got both factions of the party that understand that.”

Meanwhile, McColum led by emphasizing he was not a politician, saying he was a solider with a solutions-focused approach to problems. The latest polls had him polling at 1% and 2%, respectively, according to the NYT poll tracker.

McColumn said the two primary issues he sees in the country is the lack of strong leaders and that God has been “kicked so far out of the system” the country can’t tell right from wrong.

“I'm here today because I I want to alter the United States Senate. I want to send someone who has extraordinary leadership, someone who has tested leadership,” he said.

The fourth candidate, Clement, did not qualify for the race and is running as a write-in candidate. Clement promoted her community benefit corporation, Loc Nation Global Public Benefit Corporation, to support “historically neglected and redlined communities around the world.”

The primary for U.S. Senate is on May 19. The voter registration deadline for the election is April 20, and voters can check their registration status through the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.

Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at [email protected].