President Donald Trump threw his weight behind Rep. Mike Collins on Sunday in Georgia's Republican Senate runoff, posting a lengthy endorsement on Truth Social just two days before voters head to the polls, and two days after early voting had already closed.
The June 16 runoff pits Collins, a congressman Trump called a "WARRIOR and WINNER," against former football coach Derek Dooley. The winner will take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November in what both parties view as one of the most consequential Senate races of the 2026 midterms.
The endorsement matters for reasons beyond one Georgia seat. It sets up a direct test of Trump's sway inside the Republican Party against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who has backed Dooley. Fox News reported that Republicans consider Ossoff one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election, making the GOP nomination fight a proxy battle with real general-election stakes.
Trump's Truth Social post left little ambiguity about where he stood. He praised Collins as a loyalist who "has been with me from the very beginning" and laid out a policy wish list for the congressman's Senate bid, the Daily Caller reported.
"As your next Senator, Mike will continue to work hard to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Strengthen our incredible Military/Veterans, Advance Election Integrity, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment."
Trump also took direct aim at Dooley, questioning the former coach's ties to the state and his voting record.
"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!"
The president added a backhanded line: "I don't know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person."
The runoff is not just Collins versus Dooley. It is the latest chapter in the long-running tension between Trump and Kemp, two Republican power centers in Georgia who have clashed repeatedly since 2020. The AP reported that Kemp has been actively campaigning with Dooley, underscoring the divide between Kemp-aligned Republicans and Trump loyalists in the state.
Collins, for his part, appeared to welcome the timing. He told the AP that Trump "has this just impeccable ability to put his thumb on the scale at the right time."
That timing, though, deserves a closer look. Early voting had already ended by the time Trump posted his endorsement. Voters who cast ballots early did so without knowing where the president stood. Only those who show up on Tuesday will carry the endorsement into the booth.
If Trump's endorsement is a boost, it lands on a candidate who was already well ahead. The Real Clear Politics average of polls showed Collins leading Dooley by 12.7 percentage points heading into the final stretch. Trump-endorsed candidates have won the vast majority of primary elections in 2026, and Collins appears positioned to extend that streak.
The Washington Times noted the race has been framed as a test of Trump's influence in Georgia, particularly because of Kemp's involvement on the other side. A Collins win would reinforce the idea that a Trump endorsement remains the most valuable currency in Republican primaries. A Dooley upset, now looking unlikely given the polling margin, would hand Kemp a significant victory.
Whatever happens Tuesday, the real target is November. Ossoff won his seat in a January 2021 special election runoff that handed Democrats control of the Senate. Republicans have been eyeing the seat ever since.
Trump's endorsement post made clear he views Collins as the stronger candidate to take on Ossoff, calling him "a very successful Businessman prior to becoming a distinguished U.S. Congressman" with "a career loaded with accolades and wins, always fighting tirelessly for our America First Agenda."
Just The News reported that Trump also sharpened his rhetoric against Ossoff directly, calling him "a Radical Left Dumocrat" and framing the general election around taxes, immigration, crime, and cultural issues. That language signals the kind of campaign the White House expects Collins to run if he advances.
Trump highlighted Collins's role as a prominent supporter of the Laken Riley Act, which the president signed into law on January 29, 2025. The law requires federal authorities to hold illegal immigrants accused of theft, a direct response to the case that became a flashpoint in the immigration debate.
That record gives Collins a concrete legislative accomplishment to run on in a general election where border security and immigration enforcement are expected to be top-tier issues. Dooley, a former football coach without a legislative portfolio, would have had to make a different kind of case to Georgia voters in November.
Trump's decision to weigh in so late, after early voting closed but before Election Day, raises a practical question: was this about moving votes, or about claiming credit for a likely winner? Collins's double-digit polling lead suggests the race was already trending his way. A Sunday endorsement gives Trump ownership of the outcome without the risk of a high-profile loss.
But the endorsement also carries real weight in the intra-party struggle. Kemp backed Dooley. If Collins wins by a wide margin on Tuesday, it will be read as a clear signal about where Georgia Republican voters stand in the Trump-Kemp divide, and which brand of Republicanism controls the party heading into the midterms.
Trump described Georgia as "a very special place to me" and boasted of receiving "the Most Votes Received by any single Candidate in Georgia's History, for any Election." He cast the Senate race as a natural extension of that success.
Several details remain unclear. The specific polls that make up the Real Clear Politics average have not been itemized. The vote totals and candidate field from the initial primary that produced the Collins-Dooley runoff are not detailed in available reporting. And the sources or records behind Trump's claims about Dooley's residency and voting history have not been independently verified.
What is clear: Georgia Republicans will choose on Tuesday between a Trump-backed congressman with a legislative track record and a Kemp-backed former football coach whom the president dismissed as someone nobody knows. The polling says Collins. The endorsement says Collins. The general election against Ossoff awaits.
In Republican primaries, the question is no longer whether a Trump endorsement matters. It's whether anyone can win without one.
