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Trump Senate Pick’s Awkward Photos Fuel Growing Campaign Scandal

A Republican candidate accused of heinous crimes was pictured with Mike Collins.

Trump-endorsed Senate candidate Mike Collins was all smiles alongside a campaign captain now accused of child molestation and public indecency–the latest ugly revelation about the MAGA Republican’s campaign associates.

Collins appeared alongside Andre Lamar Stafford at several campaign events, and Stafford claimed the congressman had endorsed his bid for South Carolina House District 42 before his arrest earlier this month.

Stafford is just one of several campaign associates of Congressman Collins who is facing or has faced criminal charges, calling into question the GOP candidate’s so-called “tough on crime” stance. The revelation also comes as numerous polls show Collins trailing his Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, by double digits.

Stafford was allegedly driving his Kia Forte through Smyrna, an Atlanta suburb, when he pulled over next to a girl under 16 walking to her school bus stop the morning of Oct. 15, according to local police. Then, the aspiring politician allegedly told the girl she was “pretty” and “started playing with his exposed penis” in front of her, according to an arrest warrant viewed by the Daily Beast.

Police used Flock cameras to identify Stafford’s car, according to the warrant. Days later, he was arrested, and later released on a $25,000 bond.

Stafford has denied the charges and asserted that he will stay in his state House race. “I have no reason to drop out, I am innocent,” he told Fox5.

“This is beyond politics,” Stafford’s opponent, state House Representative Gabriel Sanchez, wrote in an X post on Tuesday night. “Every student in our community deserves to be safe waiting for the school bus in their own neighborhood, and there is no greater crime than one against a child.”

Stafford is listed as a Collins “convoy captain”—an unpaid grassroots campaign leader—in Cobb County, the same area where the alleged incident occurred.

Collins spokesperson Meyer Siegfried told the Daily Beast that Stafford “volunteered on many campaigns across the state this year, including ours.”

“The charges are sickening, and if they’re true then he belongs on a list and behind bars,” he said.

Collins has repeatedly praised Stafford throughout his campaign to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff. “Cobb County Convoy Captain [Andre Stafford] says only one man can send Jon Ossoff packing and that’s Mike Collins,” an X post from Mike Collins’ campaign account reads. “With 800+ convoy captains spread across all 159 counties, no other campaign can compete with this kind of grassroots infrastructure.”

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.

Debbie Dooley, a prominent conservative activist in Georgia and co-founder of America’s Tea Party movement, told the Daily Beast that Stafford was a “close ally” of Collins prior to his arrest.

“I am disgusted by the child molestation charges,” Dooley said.

A prominent Georgia political figure, Stafford has been photographed with several Trump-endorsed candidates before his arrest. 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.”

Spokespersons for Gaines and Jackson denied any personal or professional ties to Stafford, emphasizing that their candidates take photos with numerous people at campaign and political events.

Greg Dolezal, a lieutenant governor candidate, also lavished Stafford with praise before he was arrested.

“Thank you for the support and for stepping into the arena yourself-can’t wait to see you win,” Dolezal wrote in an X post to Stafford, who deleted his account.

For Collins, the allegations against Stafford are just the latest in a series of scandals plaguing his campaign. The Daily Beast has reported extensively on Collins’ campaign associates, including Brett Benny Langham, one of Collins’ campaign leaders, who pleaded guilty to felony cruelty to children, sexual battery, and family violence simple battery in 2014, according to court documents. The charges stemmed from an incident involving Langham’s stepdaughter, who was younger than 16. Langham was sentenced to 30 days in prison and 10 years of probation. He did not respond to questions from the Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast also reported that at least two of Collins’ campaign-appointed leaders, Joshua Mote and Michael Boggus, have ties to American Patriots USA, a far-right group founded by Chester Doles, a former Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi National Alliance leader.

Mote denied being a racist and asserted that the group, American Patriots USA, was “never a hate group” during his time there, which he claimed was eight months.

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Following two Daily Beast reports, Ossoff called on Collins to disband his “disgraceful” convoy-captain program.

“These are people that the congressman has elevated to leadership roles in his campaign,” Ossoff said during a recent interview, alleging the program brought “dishonor” to the state.

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Laura EspositoBreaking News Reporter

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