‘Friend’ of President Trump advances to Georgia Republican Senate primary runoff

The president likes him “a lot,” but Georgia voters still have to prove they agree.

Sitting U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) took home the most votes in the Georgia GOP primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, but it was not enough to secure an outright nomination.

’28 more days of putting the hammer down!’

Collins was first in the primary, but since he did not garner 50% of the vote, he will have to go head-to-head against runner-up Derek Dooley in a runoff election on June 16. Collins finished with nearly 41% of the vote, while Dooley had about 30%, according to CBS News.

“Thank you, Georgia. Love y’all. 28 more days of putting the hammer down!” Collins wrote on X after securing the most votes in the primary.

Collins was considered the favorite as a MAGA-style Republican and led polls by an average of 11.5 points between April and May.

The 58-year-old also received an unofficial endorsement from President Donald Trump in February, but it is unclear how much that endorsement helped him.

A video posted February 19 showed Trump telling supporters, “He’s a friend of mine. He’s a good guy.”

“I like him a lot,” Trump added.

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The video garnered nearly 1 million views on X, but subsequent polls showed Collins’ lead shrank from about +25 in mid-February to just +14 by the end of the month.

Still, Collins was considered to be Trump-aligned, having similar views on immigration and spearheading the Laken Riley Act. As well, Collins voted against aid to Ukraine in October 2023, but voted in favor of Israeli aid the same month.

Dooley, a former football coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, was consistently second or third in polling and was endorsed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R).

Dooley put out a statement late on Tuesday thanking his voters for their support.

“This campaign has been about putting the people of Georgia first and sending a new type of leader up to D.C. who’s in it for the right reasons, and that’s to serve,” Dooley wrote on X.

“Let’s get to work and win this runoff!” he added alongside a photo that featured Gov. Kemp.

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Third place went to Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.), a former pharmacist and mayor who received approximately 25% of the vote.

Other candidates included businessman and real estate developer John Coyne, as well as Jonathan McColumn, a retired U.S. Army Reserve brigadier general and pastor. Both got less than 5% of the vote.

The winner of Collins vs. Dooley will face off against Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff in November. Ossoff went unopposed in the Democrat primary and has been in office since 2021.

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