President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff on Sunday, backing the MAGA-aligned congressman over Derek Dooley, a former football coach supported by Gov. Brian Kemp, just days before voters decide the GOP’s nominee to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Collins is “strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond” and called him “a WARRIOR and WINNER,” according to The Washington Post. Trump also dismissed Dooley, saying “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else.”
Collins, a second-term congressman and former trucking company executive, finished the May 19 primary with more than 40 percent of the vote, significantly ahead of Dooley’s 30 percent. The result forced a runoff scheduled for June 16, 2026. The winner will face Ossoff, a 39-year-old first-term senator, in the general election on November 3.
Republicans view Georgia as perhaps their best opportunity to pick up a Senate seat this fall. The GOP currently holds 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats. Trump’s endorsement comes as he has intervened in other Senate races, including his decision last month to endorse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, according to The Washington Post.
The endorsement highlights a growing divide within Georgia’s Republican Party. Kemp, the state’s popular governor, has backed Dooley and has argued that Republicans should not nominate controversial candidates. Kemp pointed to the 2022 Senate race, when Herschel Walker, a former football star, lost to Ossoff by nearly three percentage points despite facing a well-funded race. Walker struggled to overcome scandals during that campaign, according to The Washington Post.
Collins has faced criticism for provocative social media posts, including some promoting the conspiracy theory that President Joe Biden ordered the 2024 assassination attempt against then-candidate Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. He also faces an ethics investigation over allegations that his then-chief of staff misused taxpayer money to pay a friend, though Collins’s office has denied the charges, The Washington Post reported.
Ossoff has dismissed both candidates as “Trump puppets,” according to The Washington Post. Collins has emphasized his experience as a trucking executive and his family’s political background—his father, Mac Collins, served a dozen years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Collins has also led Dooley in fundraising heading into the runoff.
Sources
- The Washington Post — Trump’s Truth Social endorsement of Collins, comparison to Herschel Walker’s 2022 loss, Kemp’s backing of Dooley, Collins’s ethics investigation and controversial posts, Ossoff’s response
- The New York Times — Trump endorsement of Collins, race background and general election matchup
- Fox News — Trump endorsement of Collins as MAGA champion
- Politico — Trump endorsement timing and race significance
- The Hill — Trump endorsement of Collins in runoff
