Georgia’s already “combustible” GOP U.S. Senate primary is becoming even messier after another week of “infighting,” as MAGA extremist Rep. Mike Collins went after MAGA “warrior” Rep. Buddy Carter for his failure to “move the needle” despite spending millions of dollars on ads, and ridiculed failed and fired former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley on social media.
Read for yourself:
AJC Politically Georgia
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam | August 8, 2025
KEY POINTS:
- “He wasn’t a star. He wasn’t a successful coach either.”
- That was U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s blunt response to a question at a Henry County GOP meeting this week about why “another football star” — a reference to Derek Dooley — was now running for U.S. Senate in Georgia.
- In audio obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he went on to argue that Dooley isn’t prepared to take on U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent.
- “This is serious stuff now — I don’t want to hear about, you know, we’re just going to put this to a popularity contest. That’s not what this is,” Carter said. “You got to have somebody who can go toe to toe with this kid, and I’m that person who can go toe to toe with him.”
- Carter isn’t the only GOP Senate candidate unloading on Dooley. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins has also taken swipes at the former coach, accusing him of “sitting on the sidelines” during all three of President Donald Trump’s White House runs and ridiculing his losing record at the University of Tennessee.
AJC Politically Georgia
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam | August 14, 2025
- At a Muscogee County GOP meeting this week, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, delivered some of his most pointed attacks yet on his Republican Senate rivals.
- On U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island: […] “Folks, you spend $3 million on ads, and you don’t move the needle, and you’re still running percentage points way behind me and I’m not in the race. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Means you just didn’t fit.”
- On former football coach Derek Dooley:
- “I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t know this guy. Matter of fact, I can’t even tell where he voted until 2024.”
- “The guy’s had 12 jobs in 10 locations and been gone from here for 25 years. We need somebody that is proven sitting in that seat…”
- “We don’t need to go with a childhood friend and an experiment for something that is that important.”
- “I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t know this guy. Matter of fact, I can’t even tell where he voted until 2024.”
- Dooley shot back: “It’s not surprising that typical politicians like Congressman Collins start panicking when their dream of another political promotion is in danger.”
Throughout the week, Collins’ campaign Twitter made multiple posts ridiculing Dooley for his abysmal coaching record, his failure to register as a Republican, and not voting for Donald Trump multiple times.