New reporting from Punchbowl News underscores how Georgia Republicans are struggling to land a suitable candidate to run for U.S. Senate – leading to a messy, chaotic primary that could be a “proxy fight for the future of the Georgia GOP.”
The expected entrance of former mediocre Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley and “conservative hardliner” Rep. Mike Collins into the race reveals how Republicans are reportedly “unsatisfied with the current crop of contenders.”
But that’s not all: Dooley’s recently revealed voting history, which raises questions about his support for Trump, has deepened concerns that the GOP’s messy primary could pit Trump’s allies against Kemp’s circle.
Punchbowl News: The brewing Senate GOP primary fight in Georgia
Max Cohen | July 24, 2025
KEY POINTS:
- Georgia Republican Senate hopefuls Derek Dooley and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) are […] expected to jump into the race during the coming weeks. And with some Republicans unsatisfied with the current crop of contenders, the entry of Dooley and Collins into the fray could set up a proxy fight for the future of the Georgia GOP.
- Dooley, a former college football coach with no political experience, represents the Gov. Brian Kemp wing of the party. Collins — a conservative hardliner who’s served in Congress since 2023 — is closer to the MAGA movement.
- Most Georgia Republicans are hoping Trump and Kemp, who last met in May to discuss the primary, will coalesce behind the same candidate.
- Dooley is getting hit constantly with opposition research dumps questioning his support for President Donald Trump and his relationship with the Republican Party.
- The Washington Examiner reported this week that Dooley didn’t vote in numerous presidential elections, never donated to Trump and didn’t register as a Republican in a number of states.
- But some Georgia Republicans say the unknown quantity of Dooley’s political chops is worrying. “I don’t know him at all,” Collins told us about Dooley. “I’ve never met him.”
- Collins, who’s been teasing a Senate run for months, faces questions over his fundraising capacity and whether he can build a statewide team.
- Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King are the other major candidates in the race. Carter has kicked off his campaign by…branding himself as a “MAGA warrior.”