Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), the GOP Senate nominee, was dealt another blow Sunday after The Daily Beast got its hands on a series of photographs showing the Georgia Republican smiling alongside Andre Stafford, who last month was arrested for public indecency and child molestation.
Stafford, who served as Collins’ “convoy captain,” is himself a candidate for office, running to unseat Democratic Georgia state Rep. Gabriel Sanchez.
CBS affiliate WDBJ7 reported that on Oct. 15 in Smyrna, Georgia, Stafford allegedly pulled up in his vehicle next to a girl who was walking to her bus stop, telling the child she “was pretty,” investigators said, before exposing himself. The girl was under 16, according to the Beast. Stafford was ultimately arrested and charged with a felony, though he proclaimed his innocence in a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta.
In a statement to the Beast, a spokesperson for Collins’ campaign admitted that Stafford had volunteered for the campaign, but said he belonged “on a list and behind bars” if the allegations were true.
Collins’ history with Stafford, however, may prove problematic for the GOP hopeful in his bid to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and risks “calling into question the GOP candidate’s so-called ‘tough on crime’ stance,” the Beast reported.
“Collins has repeatedly praised Stafford throughout his campaign to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff,” the Beast’s report reads. “In a now-deleted X post, Stafford gushed over an endorsement from Collins, writing that he was ‘honored’ to be backed by the Trump-endorsed congressman.”
Prominent conservative Georgia activist Debbie Dooley told the Beast that Stafford was a “close ally” to Collins before his arrest, and that she was “disgusted by the child molestation charges.”
Stafford’s arrest risks complicating other GOP candidates’ campaigns as well, according to the Beast.
“A prominent Georgia political figure, Stafford has been photographed with several Trump-endorsed candidates before his arrest,” the Beast’s report reads.
“Photos obtained by the Daily Beast show a smiling Stafford next to Houston Gaines, who is running to replace Collins in the House, as well as Rick Jackson, a billionaire running for governor in Georgia whom the president praised as a true ‘champion for the people.’”