GEORGIA — Georgia’s 10th Congressional District Representative Mike Collins (R-Jackson) has received a big boost in his U.S. Senate campaign just days before the Republican runoff.
President Donald Trump officially endorsed Collins in the U.S. Senate election in the wee hours of his 80th birthday on Sunday morning. The endorsement comes days after Trump was asked in the Oval Office if he was going to endorse either Collins or his opponent Derek Dooley.
“It is my Great Honor to endorse ‘MAGA’ Mike Collins, a Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning, and is running for the United States Senate in Georgia, a very special place to me, and where we just had a BIG Presidential Election Win with the Most Votes Received by any single Candidate in Georgia’s History, for any Election,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Mike is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate — He is a WARRIOR and WINNER!”
Following Trump’s announcement, Collins thanked the president on his social media platforms.
“Thank you President Trump for your complete and total endorsement,” Collins wrote, in part. “Georgians deserve a U.S. Senator who will fight for them every day to deliver real results, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Both Collins and Dooley had been angling for Trump’s support in the race after the two advanced to a runoff following May’s general election. Collins led the five-way race with 41%, while Dooley finished with 30%.
In his decision to not endorse Dooley, Trump cited the former football coach’s voting record as well as his stance on the 2020 presidential election.
“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump wrote. “Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”
Governor Brian Kemp, who has had a complicated relationship with the president, has backed Dooley throughout the race. In a statement on X, Dooley said he has “great respect” for Trump while calling on Kemp and Georgians as his biggest supporters.
“I’m proud to have the strong support of Governor Brian Kemp, and we’re going to win on Tuesday because as I have said from the beginning the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people,” Dooley wrote.
The winner of Tuesday’s Republican runoff will advance to the general election in November. Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff has held the seat since 2021, after defeating David Perdue in 2020 to become the first Democratic senator elected for a full term since Max Cleland in 1996. In Newton County, Ossoff had 8,000 more votes than Purdue in the U.S. Senate runoff.
As for May’s primary, Collins — who represents parts of Newton County in the 10th Congressional District — comfortably outperformed the field in Newton County with 3,861 votes to Dooley’s 2,567.
