Republican officials are playing hardball against GOP Rep. Doug Collins in Georgia Senate race

The Republican Party did not respond positively to Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) waging a primary challenge against Sen. Kelly Laoeffler (R-Ga.), who was appointed to the seat by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last December and has to defend it in a special election in November. Now, the National Republican Campaign Committee, the Senate GOP's campaign arm, has formally asked vendors to stop working for Collins and against Loeffler, and multiple vendors have quit the Colllins campaign, Politico reported Wednesday.

Collins took the defections in stride. "Instead of a bunch of suits like the cast of Law & Order" working for the campaign, his spokesman told Politico, Collins will run with a "colorful cast of characters who all have an aversion to authority."

Loeffler certainly has powerful friends in her bid to fend off Collins' right-flank challenge. The Club for Growth has put $3 million into TV and digital ads targeting Collins most recently as a fiscal spendthrift. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a prominent Georgia Republican, endorsed Loeffler on Tuesday, calling her "exactly the type of political outsider we need in Washington" and a "strong supporter of President Trump."

The big endorsement is Trump's, though, and so far he has remained neutral. Last week, Trump appeared to offer a compromise between Loeffler, whose appointment he opposed, and Collins, who he called "an unbelievable friend of mine and spokesman — and somebody that I really like." Trump told Loeffler at a White House ceremony that she's "going to end up liking [Collins] a lot," adding, "Something's going to happen that's going to be very good. I don't know; I haven't figured it out yet." Both campaigns told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they viewed that as supportive from Trump.