Previous reporting in Fox News exposed that Trump’s team was “pissed off” over Kemp’s decision to back Dooley
New audio reported by the Washington Examiner reveals that failed and fired former Tennessee football coach and GOP U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley declared that “Trump lost Georgia” — deepening the unhealed wound between Gov. Brian Kemp, who is hand holding Dooley through his flailing Senate campaign, and Donald Trump over his baseless claims that he won Georgia in 2020.
Ahead of Trump’s visit to the state today, the new reporting underscores another major rift in the already “splintered” GOP U.S. Senate primary as Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, and Derek Dooley battle it out to prove their loyalty to Trump.
“We can’t help but ask: how will Trump respond during his trip to Rome today to Brian Kemp’s hand-picked U.S. Senate candidate undermining the president?” said Democratic Party of Georgia Senior Communications Advisor Devon Cruz.
Read for yourself:
Washington Examiner: Kemp-Backed Derek Dooley Admits Trump Lost Georgia in 2020 As GOP Field Vies for Endorsement
By Samantha-Jo Roth | February 19th, 2026
KEY EXCERPTS:
- Georgia Senate candidate Derek Dooley privately acknowledged that President Donald Trump lost Georgia in 2020, according to exclusive audio obtained by the Washington Examiner.
- The remark lands just three months before the state’s Republican primary and threatens to deepen divisions in an already volatile race. In a recording from a Feb. 6 campaign meet-and-greet in McRae-Helena, Dooley addressed attendees’ questions about Trump and the 2020 election.
- “If you guys remember, this was a time where it was a tough time in Georgia politics back in 2020, 2022, the president lost Georgia,” Dooley said. “He got a little upset with Governor Kemp, and it’s a little bit why we’re in this mess we’re in right now.”
- The comment puts Dooley at odds with rivals who have more forcefully echoed Trump’s election claims and underscores a loyalty divide at the center of the crowded Republican primary to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2026.
- After being contacted about the audio, a spokesperson for Dooley did not dispute the recording […]