Trump endorses Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia Senate race

2026 ElectionTrump endorses Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia Senate raceThe endorsement is a blow to Derek Dooley, who has been backed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff faces Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga.Elijah Nouvelage / AFP via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 14, 2026, 9:45 AM EDTBy Bridget BowmanPresident Donald Trump has endorsed GOP Rep. Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate race, giving the two-term congressman a last-minute boost ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Collins is facing former football coach Derek Dooley in a Tuesday runoff after the May 19 primary, when none of the GOP candidates won a majority of the vote. Collins finished first in that contest, with 40% of the vote to Dooley’s 30%, followed by Rep. Buddy Carter with 25%. Both Dooley and Collins had been vying for Trump’s endorsement, but some Georgia Republicans have long believed that Trump was more likely to back Collins, who was pitching himself as a staunch Trump ally. Collins often noted on the campaign trail and on the airwaves that he authored the Laken Riley Act, an immigration enforcement measure that was the first bill Trump signed into law in his second term. Collins’ campaign launched a TV ad during the runoff where Collins says, “I stand with President Trump,” and features footage of Trump praising Collins as “fantastic.” Collins also recently hired some of Trump’s top campaign aides, Axios reported. Dooley, though, has had a major backer on his side in Gov. Brian Kemp, who has clashed with Trump over the president’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The governor is personally close with the Dooley family — Dooley’s father was a legendary University of Georgia football coach — and Kemp and his wife have continued to join Dooley on the campaign trail a...