{"id":2604816,"date":"2026-05-19T23:57:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-gop-senate-primary-heads-to-runoff-between-mike-collins-and-derek-dooley\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:58:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:58:30","slug":"georgia-gop-senate-primary-heads-to-runoff-between-mike-collins-and-derek-dooley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-gop-senate-primary-heads-to-runoff-between-mike-collins-and-derek-dooley\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia GOP Senate primary heads to runoff between Mike Collins and Derek Dooley"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgia-gop-senate-primary-heads-to-runoff-between-mike-collins-and-derek-dooley%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604816&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Mike Collins and Derek Dooley will face each other in Georgia\u2019s June 16 runoff for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, following a primary in which neither candidate cleared 50%. Collins advanced first and Dooley second, while Rep.Buddy Carter placed third.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are concerned that the competitive, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bad-leadership-detroit-businessman-blasts-gretchen-whitmers-economic-policies\/\" title=\"\u2018Bad Leadership\u2019: Detroit Businessman Blasts Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s Economic Policies\">expensive primary<\/a> could weaken their chances against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff,who has strong fundraising momentum-raising over $14 million in the first quarter and entering the runoff period with about $31 million cash on hand.The article also notes that the outcome may hinge on whether President Donald Trump decides to back either finalist, since he did not endorse in the primary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) and former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are heading to a runoff election as both candidates vie for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/georgia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"164\">Republican<\/a> nomination for Senate in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/georgia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"164\">Georgia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Collins and Dooley, who had the backing of Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brian-kemp\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3312\">Brian Kemp<\/a> (R-GA), are looking to take on vulnerable Democratic incumbent Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jon-ossoff\/\">Jon Ossoff<\/a> (D-GA) in the November general election. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you, Georgia,\u201d Collins said in a post on X. \u201cLove y\u2019all. 28 more days of putting the hammer down!\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575866\/trump-allies-victory-lap-massie-kentucky-gop-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump and allies take victory lap after Massie\u2019s defeat in Kentucky GOP primary<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575617\/maureen-galindo-zionists-ice-internment-camps\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Texas Democratic House candidate vows to intern Zionists and ex-ICE officers<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4575766\/thomas-massie-hints-2028-run-kentucky\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Massie hints at a run in 2028: \u2018We\u2019ll talk about it later\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Collins easily glided into the runoff election, with the <em>Associated Press<\/em> announcing he would be in the second contest at 9:43 p.m. The outlet called the race for Dooley as Collins\u2019s runoff opponent hours later, at 11:16 p.m. With 80% of ballots counted, Collins held with 40.5% of the vote, compared to 30% for Dooley.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Since no candidate got more than 50%, a runoff will be held on June 16 between the top two vote-getters as required by Georgia law.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) was in third place with 25.3% of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Republicans fear the costly primary will\u00a0leave them weakened ahead of the general election matchup against Ossoff, who will have spent months fundraising and gathering support from his party.<\/p>\n<p>Now, eyes will be on President Donald Trump, who did not endorse in the competitive Senate primary, to see if he gets behind either candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Collins, with the backing of Club for Growth, led in polling leading up to the race, with Dooley trailing behind him. Republicans originally wanted Kemp himself to run, viewing him as the strongest possible candidate to beat Ossoff, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >term-limited governor opted<\/a> out of the race, instead choosing to get behind Dooley, the son of longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4574223\/georgia-judge-allows-poll-watchers-monitor-tabulation-primary-results\/\"><strong>GEORGIA JUDGE ALLOWS POLL WATCHERS TO MONITOR TABULATION OF PRIMARY RESULTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Republican will have an uphill battle to defeat Ossoff, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/primary-coup-incumbent-upsets-that-could-be-brewing\/\" title=\"Main Surprise: Potential Upsets by Current Leaders\">incumbents typically enjoy<\/a> a built-in advantage during elections. Momentum also appears to be on the Democrats\u2019 side, as voters express disapproval over Trump\u2019s second-term agenda and Republicans grapple with high gas prices over the Iran war.<\/p>\n<p>Ossoff has raised more than $14 million during the first quarter and enters the sprint with roughly $31 million in the bank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Mike Collins and Derek Dooley head to a Georgia GOP Senate runoff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":2604817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-sfdl32a1a-1779247371817-e1779247699724.jpg?1779233570&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4977,6203,79975,9062,32075],"class_list":["post-2604816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-georgia","tag-gop","tag-mike-collins-vs-derek-dooley","tag-runoff","tag-senate-primary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-sfdl32a1a-1779247371817-e1779247699724.jpg?1779233570&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604816"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604820,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604816\/revisions\/2604820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}