Trump backs Collins in Georgia runoff, setting clash with Kemp

Donald Trump’s late endorsement helped Mike Collins win Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, but it also highlighted how much Brian Kemp still matters in the state’s GOP. The June 16 contest became a test of Trump’s hold on Republican voters against Kemp’s influence, with the Associated Press projecting Collins as the winner as the final ballots were counted.

Trump moved on June 14 with a late-night Truth Social post, after Georgia’s early voting period had already ended. That timing gave Collins only a narrow window to turn the president’s backing into a final-turnout message, even as Trump cast Collins as a loyal MAGA ally and said, “Mike Collins is a true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR...” The endorsement landed just before the final day of voting, making the runoff look less like a routine nomination fight than a direct referendum on who still sets the terms inside Georgia Republicans.

Kemp had already chosen his side. After deciding not to run for the seat himself, the governor backed Derek Dooley, the former University of Tennessee football coach and son of University of Georgia legend Vince Dooley. Kemp’s support gave Dooley an opening with the state’s Republican establishment, but Trump’s intervention put him in conflict with the governor just as the race entered its closing stretch. The result was a classic Georgia proxy fight, with Trump’s national brand on one side and Kemp’s home-state machine on the other.

Collins now moves on to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November, a race national observers have described as one of Republicans’ top pickup chances and one that could shape control of the Senate. Ossoff has already won statewide in Georgia, which raises the stakes for Republicans trying to flip the seat back.

The runoff suggested that, for now, Republican voters in Georgia are still responsive to Trump’s imprint, even when the endorsement comes late and collides with Kemp’s rival authority. It also showed that the party’s internal fault lines remain unresolved. In a state where turnout, personality, and loyalty all carry real weight, Collins’ win signaled that Trump still has force, but not without Kemp standing as the main counterweight in Georgia politics.