President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Sunday over former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley just ahead of Tuesday’s runoff between the two GOP candidates.
The late-stage endorsement marked Trump’s choice of one MAGA candidate over the other, with both vying to face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in November’s midterm elections.
Ossoff, who has raised substantial campaign funds and sits in a crucial Senate seat for Republicans, has recently been touted as a rising leader in the Democratic Party and a possible 2028 presidential candidate.
“Mike Collins is a true FRIEND, FIGHTER, and WARRIOR,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, “who has been with us from the very beginning, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be your next United States Senator.”
Collins is the former owner of a trucking company who has campaigned as an America First, Trump-aligned candidate. Trump also said in his announcement that Collins is “strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.”
The president offered a brief explanation of why he didn’t endorse Dooley, saying the candidate has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life and “said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!” Trump also said he doesn’t know Dooley and “neither does anyone else” despite him seeming “like a nice person.”
Trump attacked Ossoff in the post, listing off his stances on the border, men in women’s sports, and tax policy, saying the incumbent Democrat “is a laughingstock in Washington.”
The results will provide the latest measure of Trump’s influence in GOP statewide and congressional primaries. Trump-backed candidates have defeated his opponents in Indiana, Louisiana, and Kentucky in recent months, but the streak of statewide victories ended two weeks ago in Iowa.
GEORGIA GOP SENATE PRIMARY HEADS TO RUNOFF BETWEEN MIKE COLLINS AND DEREK DOOLEY
Dooley is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley. He has promoted himself as an outsider, while Collins’ campaign has attacked his lack of political expertise. Dooley is backed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), a lifelong friend.
The two candidates advanced to the runoff in late May, with Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) placing third. Collins secured about 10 percentage points more of the vote than Dooley. The runoff will be held on Tuesday.
