ATLANTA (AP) — Days before the U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia, President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins over former football coach Derek Dooley, putting his stamp of approval on another loyalist who some conservatives believe could be a risky bet in November.The Republican candidates are competing Tuesday for the chance to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most closely watched campaigns in the November midterm elections. Collins has positioned himself as a stalwart ally of Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement, and the president said in his announcement early Sunday on social media that the trucking company owner and second-term congressman “has been with me from the very beginning” and is a ”true friend, fighter, and WARRIOR.”Dooley, a political newcomer, is backed by outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, who has clashed with Trump in the past. “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump wrote, while noting that Dooley did not vote in 2016 or 2020, when Trump was on the ballot. Dooley has acknowledged going nearly two decades without voting but says he did vote for Trump in 2024.
Collins led Dooley in the May 19 primary but neither surpassed 40%, leaving many Republican votes up for grabs. Trump’s endorsement has proved powerful as he shapes a party identity that is increasingly indistinguishable from his own.
