Unverified Trump Endorsement Claim Shapes Georgia Senate Runoff

President Trump endorsed Representative Mike Collins in Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff on Sunday, aligning himself with a congressional ally known for hard-line immigration positions over a candidate backed by Governor Brian Kemp. The move highlights the continuing influence of Trump’s preferences in Republican primaries even as it exposes tensions within the state party.

Collins, who represents a district between Atlanta and Augusta, finished first in the May primary and holds a lead in head-to-head polling against Derek Dooley. Trump described Collins on Truth Social as a “true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR” who has supported him “from the very beginning,” granting him his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” The timing, two days before Tuesday’s runoff, gives Collins a late boost in a contest that will determine the Republican nominee to challenge Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in November.

Ossoff is viewed by both parties as one of the more exposed Democratic incumbents. Republicans have identified the seat as a prime target for regaining or expanding their narrow Senate majority. Collins’s victory in the runoff would set up a general-election matchup between two candidates with sharply different profiles: a trucking executive who has cultivated a MAGA identity and a former University of Tennessee football coach whose family ties to Georgia football and endorsement from the popular governor have been central to his appeal.

Kemp’s support for Dooley reflects a long-running strain in relations between the governor and Trump. The governor has maintained strong approval ratings in Georgia while charting a course that sometimes diverges from Trump’s orbit. Republican strategists in the state had expected the runoff to remain competitive despite Collins’s primary lead, in part because of Kemp’s organizational reach. Trump’s intervention, which has repeatedly altered primary outcomes in recent cycles, could shift that balance.

The broader field included Representative Buddy Carter, another Trump-aligned candidate who did not advance. Collins’s emphasis on immigration enforcement and consistent alignment with the president’s agenda positioned him as the clearest standard-bearer for that faction. Dooley’s campaign, by contrast, leaned on Kemp’s endorsement and a more traditional conservative message without the same level of national MAGA signaling.

Georgia’s Senate contest is one of several that will decide control of the chamber after the midterms. With the Republican primary now effectively a referendum on Trump’s preferred candidate, the outcome will also test whether the governor’s popularity can offset the former president’s sway inside the party. Collins enters the final day of campaigning with both the polling edge and the most prominent national endorsement in the race.