Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesRep. Doug Collins dropped by Valdosta Monday while on the campaign trail for a U.S. Senate seat.

VALDOSTA — Rep. Doug Collins paid a visit to Valdosta Monday, lunching with dozens of supporters as he pursues a U.S. Senate seat.

The 54-year-old Republican faces incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and several other candidates for a special election Nov. 3 to fill the Senate seat once held by Sen. Johnny Isakson, who stepped down Dec. 31 for health reasons.

Collins told an audience of dozens at the Holiday Inn conference center that he expects the election to go into a runoff vote in January.

A solid supporter of President Donald Trump — placards at the luncheon described Collins as a “bulldog for Trump” — he said the president’s recent bout with the COVID-19 virus shows the public needs to take precautions.

“The president, who had a lot of precautions around him, still got it,” Collins said. “He’s also benefiting from the very treatments he advocated in Operation Warp Speed.”

Collins said the two biggest issues South Georgia is concerned with in the upcoming election are the farm economy and the military.

Collins, who served in the Air Force and remains in the Air Force Reserve, was posted to Moody Air Force Base from 2002-05.

The biggest military needs, he said, are taking care of personnel issues, including retention and making sure equipment is updated.

“We’ve spent 18-19 years in a constant war state,” he said.

On the agriculture scene, Collins said disaster relief is a major priority. A number of South Georgia crops have been damaged by storms in recent years.

Another major problem for South Georgia farmers is immigration, he said. Collins said Georgia leads the nation in H-2A workers. The government’s H-2A program regulates the lawful admission of temporary foreign workers.

“Farmers need an H-2A program that is actually workable so they can get crops in the field and out of the field as well,” he said.

Regarding the election, Collins said the state needs a senator who “has Georgia’s best interests at heart.”

A lawyer who formerly ran a private practice, Collins tackled opposition ads that painted him as an attorney who helped criminals go free. He called some of the ads blatant “lies.”

“The Constitution guarantees everyone legal representation (in court),” Collins said. “I took on a lot of indigent defense cases.”

He also stressed the need for improved rural broadband internet access, saying the heavy use of online resources during the pandemic has proved the need for better connectivity.

In a question-and-answer session, Collins said the Senate’s use of the filibuster needs to be curbed when it comes to dealing with appropriation bills.

In U.S. Senate practice, a filibuster is a the right of a senator, when given permission to speak on the Senate floor, to talk about absolutely anything, non-stop, often as a stonewalling or delaying tactic. Only a vote by three-fifths of the Senate can force a senator to stop.

Answering another question, Collins said he backs legislation to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Law. That section shields tech companies for liability for content posted by third parties.

President Trump has often been at odds with Facebook and Twitter, which have taken steps to block or flag posts by the president which those platforms believe contain false or misleading claims.

Collins said the legislation he backs would force big tech firms to become more “honest.”

The lawmaker was scheduled to visit Stone Creek Country Club later in the day before heading to Hinesville.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.