Collins padded his website with fake endorsements and public officials who withdrew their support. His campaign featured endorsements of people who claimed to not have endorsed him or flipped to Dooley.
Daily Caller: Georgia Rep. Mike Collins Busted Padding Website With Fake Endorsements [Daily Caller, 5/28/26]
Wayne County Sheriff Chuck Mosely Claimed That He Asked The Collins Campaign On Two Separate Occasions to Remove His Endorsement From Collins Website but He Wasn’t Taken Off. According to the Daily Caller, “Wayne County Sheriff Chuck Moseley told the Caller that he asked the Collins campaign on two separate occasions to remove his endorsement from the website, but as of this writing, he has not yet been taken off the list. ‘I’ve already talked to them twice. They’ve had their opportunity to correct it, and they hadn’t,’ Moseley told the Caller.” [Daily Caller, 5/28/26]
GOP Grady County Chair Jeff Jolly Claimed That Grady County Sheriff Earl Prince And Grady County Commissioner Sam Kines Told Him That They Never Endorsed Collins And Didn’t Know Collins Claimed Their Endorsement. According to the Daily Caller, “In a separate instance, GOP Grady County Chair Jeff Jolly told the Caller he was at a campaign event with Dooley and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp when he approached Grady County Sheriff Earl Prince and Grady County Commissioner Sam Kines about their endorsements of Collins, only to find out neither had actually endorsed him. ‘I talked to each of them in private, and I said, ‘Look, you do what you want to do, but for my own sake, I need to know why you endorsed Mike Collins,'’ Jolly told the Caller. ‘Both of them looked at me funny, like, ‘What are you talking about?’ They didn’t know anything about it.’” [Daily Caller, 5/28/26]
Worth County Shariff Don Whitaker Was Previously Listed On Collins’ Website Despite Him Endorsing Dooley. According to the Daily Caller, “Worth County Sheriff Don Whitaker was also previously listed as an endorsement on Collins’ campaign website despite having endorsed his opponent. […] ‘I have no problems with them, but I believe it was a miscommunication,’ Whitaker told the AJC. ‘I’ve spoken with one of his campaign team about this, and my name was to be taken off his endorsement list. Obviously, it wasn’t. I am endorsing Derek Dooley.’” [Daily Caller, 5/28/26]
Grady County Sheriff Claimed That His Name Was Used Without Permission And That He Never Endorsed Collins. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Grady County Sheriff Earl Prince said he never endorsed Collins. ‘I have never spoken to Mike Collins or any of his people. My named was used without my permission and I have no use for anybody that does business that way,’ he said.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/26/26]
Worth County Sheriff Don Whitaker Claimed That He Didn’t Endorse Collins And Was Endorsing Dooley. According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Worth County Sheriff Don Whitaker said he met Collins for the first time at a luncheon a few months ago and isn’t sure how he ended up on an endorsement list. ‘I have no problems with them but I believe it was miscommunication. I’ve spoken with one of his campaign team about this and my name was to be taken off his endorsement list. Obviously it wasn’t. I am endorsing Derek Dooley,’ he said.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/26/26]
Rabun County Commissioner Kent Woerner Claimed that He Initially Backed Collins But Now Endorsed Dooley. According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Rabun County Commissioner Kent Woerner said he said he initially backed Collins but switched to Dooley in recent weeks, citing his family’s long alliance with the Dooley family. His brother, Scott, was a standout player under Dooley’s father, Vince Dooley, on Georgia’s 1980 national championship football team. Woerner is also close with Gov. Brian Kemp, Dooley’s most important backer. ‘If he’s supporting Dooley, I take that as another good sign,’ Woerner said. ‘But like I said, I have nothing against Mike, if he wins the nomination I’ll support him.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/26/26]