President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia’s Senate runoff, backing a loyalist who some conservatives fear could be a risky choice for the November midterm elections.
The endorsement, made just days before Tuesday’s contest, pits Trump against more traditional Republicans, including outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp.
Collins, a second-term congressman and trucking company owner, has consistently aligned himself with Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement. In his announcement on social media early Sunday, Trump praised Collins, stating he “has been with me from the very beginning” and is a “true friend, fighter, and WARRIOR.”
The Republican candidates are vying for the opportunity to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most closely watched races this election cycle.
Trump’s chosen candidate faces Derek Dooley, a political newcomer who has the backing of Gov. Kemp, a figure who has previously clashed with Trump. Trump was dismissive of Dooley, writing, “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person.”
He also highlighted Dooley’s failure to vote in 2016 or 2020, years when Trump was on the ballot. Dooley has admitted to a nearly two-decade voting hiatus but claims he voted for Trump in 2024. Trump further criticized Dooley for accurately stating that Trump lost Georgia in 2020, refusing to endorse the claim that the election was stolen.
In the May 19 primary, Collins led Dooley, but neither candidate secured more than 40% of the vote, leaving a significant portion of Republican voters uncommitted. Trump’s endorsements have proven to be a powerful force, increasingly shaping the Republican party’s identity around his own.
“Everybody knows that I do best with the MAGA base,” Collins remarked on primary night. “It’s because they know I’ve always been with President Trump.” This move echoes Trump’s prior backing of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who subsequently won his primary runoff against U.S. Senator John Cornyn.
Dooley responded to Trump’s decision by saying Georgia voters want “a political outsider” rather than “typical D.C. politicians like Mike Collins.” In an X post, Dooley expressed confidence that he would win.
Collins has embraced Trump since his first campaign for Congress in 2022, and he has echoed the president’s false claims that his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was fraudulent. Collins sponsored the Laken Riley Act, a 2025 law that requires immigrants be detained when charged with certain crimes.
Republicans believe the issue damages Ossoff because he initially voted against the measure before supporting it after Trump returned to the White House.
Dooley — and Kemp as his top surrogate — argue that a first-time candidate has a better shot to defeat Ossoff, the only Democratic senator facing voters in a state Trump carried in 2024.
Kemp was the top choice of Senate Republican leaders looking for an Ossoff challenger. Kemp recruited Dooley, a childhood friend, to run instead.
Trump’s choice to back Collins, and his insistence on bringing up the 2020 election again, puts the spotlight again on the president’s uneasy relationship with Kemp. The governor resisted pressure from Trump not to certify Biden’s presidential electors before the Electoral College convened in December of the election year.
Trump repeatedly criticized at Kemp in the years after and backed a primary challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, against Kemp in 2022. Kemp trounced Perdue and coasted in the general election. By 2024, he and Trump managed a detente as Trump worked to return Georgia to the GOP presidential column.
But behind the scenes, it has been clear that the alliance was fragile and circumstantial. Kemp’s decision to recruit Dooley for the Senate in the first place, with an emphasis on the need for a political outsider, has itself been a subtle rejection of Trump’s domination of the party.
In his many campaign stops alongside Dooley, Kemp has reminded voters that Republicans have not won a Senate election in Georgia since 2016 — when Trump was first elected. Each time, the GOP nominee has fully embraced Trump.
Kemp and Dooley are scheduled to campaign again together Monday.
The governor points to a trio of first-term Republican senators — Montana’s Tim Sheehy, Pennsylvania’s Dave McCormick and Ohio’s Bernie Moreno — who defeated Democratic incumbents in 2024 running as outsiders who still aligned with the president.
Dooley’s argument is matched against Trump’s winning streak inside the party. In a matter of weeks, Trump has celebrated victories over Republicans who did not pass his test of loyalty.
Cornyn lost to Paxton, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost to Ed Gallrein, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana failed to make a runoff and several Indiana state senators were defeated by challengers. But Trump was unable to lift U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra to victory in Iowa’s primary for governor.
Dooley has told voters he will “work with President Trump but fight for you.” He also emphasizes that Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate race in Georgia since 2016.
Collins walks no such tightrope, and he still insists that he can have wider appeal in the fall.
“You don’t beat Jon Ossoff by having no record,” he said. “You win by having a record of results.”
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