In Georgia, No Trump Endorsement as 3 Republicans Vie to Challenge Sen. Ossoff

WASHINGTON—As a competitive primary draws to a close, Georgia’s Republican Senate hopefuls still lack something important to many GOP voters.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.), and former college football coach Derek Dooley are all still without an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

The winner of the May 19 primary, and an expected runoff, could face an uphill battle against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in November.

Early voting in the contest began on April 27 and will end on May 15.

Collins has touted his support for Trump, campaigning on his background as a truck entrepreneur and his sponsorship of the Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention of illegal immigrants alleged to have committed thefts or violent offenses. It was the first piece of legislation Trump signed into law during his second term.

In late April, Carter also told NBC-affiliated station WXIA-TV in Atlanta that he “can’t point to any” disagreements with Trump and releasing advertising that stresses his support for tax cuts in last year’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

Dooley has said on his campaign website that he will “put Georgia First,” committing to serving no more than two terms in the Senate and holding periodic town halls, among other pledges. Like Carter and Collins, he has said he is aligned with the president.

The son of late University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, Derek Dooley is also a close ally of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Although Kemp backed Trump’s 2024 candidacy, their relationship has sometimes been strained in the years since Kemp did not support the president’s 2020 election challenge in his state.

The governor joined Dooley on the campaign trail in April. A political action committee associated with Kemp has spent more than $1 million on ad buys and production in support of Dooley.

Trump and Georgia

When asked about Trump’s non-endorsement, Charles S. Bullock III, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, pointed to the contested nature of the race as Republicans mull the challenge of unseating an incumbent during a midterm—traditionally a difficult environment for the party in power.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Bullock said that Republicans close to the White House have told him that “Trump’s guiding principle this cycle is ‘don’t back no losers.’” He also said that the president’s endorsement “may carry less weight in Georgia than in most states.”

After many Trump-endorsed candidates in Georgia lost in the 2022 cycle, the president generally refrained from backing political hopefuls in the state in 2024. He did support the successful candidacy of Rep. Brian Jack (R-Ga.), a former White House aide, for an open House seat.

Trump has also thrown his weight behind several House incumbents and primary contenders from Georgia in the 2026 cycle.

Earlier this year, Trump backed Rep. Clay Fuller (R-Ga.), who won the special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene’s departure from Congress was marked by clashes with the president.

Polling for the Senate primary reviewed by The Epoch Times shows Collins in the lead, with Carter and Dooley roughly tied for second.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the two top finishers will compete in a runoff on June 16.

Then comes the general election against Ossoff in November.

Most head-to-head polls show the Democrat leading any Republican competitor, although not always by a significant margin.

A recent survey from YouGov and The Economist found that the president had a net approval rating of negative 23 points in Georgia, in line with every swing state and other polling reflecting low approval across the wider electorate.

“Republican candidates are in a bind,” Bullock said. “They dare not criticize Trump since that would cost them the nomination, but as Trump’s popularity sags among independents and college-educated white voters, many of whom identify as Republicans, the Trump embrace in the primary risks becoming a fatal flaw in the general election.”

The Money Game

Kemp’s pro-Dooley spending is not the only big money sloshing around the Peach State.

A May 12 analysis from AdImpact identified $19.6 million in total ad spending in the GOP contest so far. That includes $7.2 million for Carter, $2.4 million for Dooley, and $765,000 for Collins, as well as $9.3 million against Ossoff. Democratic spending totaled $16.3 million just for Ossoff.

Nationally, Republicans have broadly outpaced Democrats in fundraising this cycle, with $95 million cash on hand at the start of 2026 compared with Democrats’ $14 million. As Trump and other Republicans fight to win in a challenging year, including through ongoing redistricting battles across the United States, Republicans could step up their spending in Georgia once the dust settles after the primary.

AdImpact’s analysis noted that $25.5 million in pro-Republican spending has been reserved for the Georgia Senate general election. They identified no similar reservations from Democrats.

For now, Ossoff has the largest campaign war chest in the race, at $32.5 million, according to federal elections data.

Federal data show Collins, Carter, and Dooley all with $1.6 million to $1.7 million on hand as of late April.

Carter led in total receipts at $6.8 million, buoyed by a loan he made to his own campaign.

Bullock predicted that “the ease or difficulty in uniting the GOP behind the ultimate nominee depends in part on how vicious and personal the runoff becomes.”

In a message to The Epoch Times, a source close to the Collins campaign said that “Jon Ossoff will need every penny he has” as Republicans scrutinize his votes on funding for the Department of Homeland Security and other issues.