Gov. Brian Kemp is gambling again on a handpicked political newcomer in one of the nation’s most competitive U.S. Senate races.
His pick for the coveted seat, former college football coach Derek Dooley, lacks the enormous wealth or business credentials that Kelly Loeffler brought when Kemp tapped her five years ago.
But Dooley does have a famed football pedigree, a blank political slate and what supporters hope is enough crossover appeal to survive a bruising GOP primary and topple Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff next November.
Dooley’s launch on Monday, propelled by Kemp’s machine, immediately reshaped the 2026 Senate race and raised fresh questions about the governor’s political instincts. He’s expected to soon endorse Dooley, but his support is already an open secret.
It’s not the first time Kemp has staked his clout on a risky decision: He appointed Loeffler over President Donald Trump’s objections in 2019. She went on to lose in a 2021 runoff after a bitter special election battle that split the GOP.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Now, Kemp is going all in once again — flexing his powerful donor network, urging financiers to cut off his rivals and signaling he’ll unleash the full might of his political machine to get Dooley across the goal line.
But the gamble is already drawing skepticism. Despite intense lobbying from Kemp for a unity GOP candidate, including at least two in-person meetings with Trump, the president has so far withheld his endorsement.
And some question why Kemp is bypassing two contenders already in the race — U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins — for an unproven political novice.
“If Kemp’s remaining political capital were poker chips, he’s pushed them to the center of the table with this bet. And right now, the only person with a 50% chance of winning is Sen. Ossoff,” said Brian Robinson, a veteran Republican consultant.
“If you win, you look like an early investor in Apple stock. If it fails, you look like a late investor in First Liberty,” he said, referring to a failed Newnan-based firm with GOP ties.
‘Challengers are welcome’
It’s all riding on a political unknown with a famous last name — Dooley is the son of UGA coaching legend Vince Dooley — but no political record, no experience in public office and who is largely unknown to many voters.
“As much as I personally like Brian Kemp,” said Ed Henderson, a longtime leader in the Rabun County GOP, “I’m going to take a pass on Derek Dooley until I at least meet him and have a chance to talk to him.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Unlike the last Senate race, where football icon Herschel Walker steamrolled competition on his way to the GOP nomination, this one is shaping up to be a wide-open and unpredictable fight that could open a new Republican rift in Georgia.
That 2022 contest still looms large in the GOP psyche, scarred by the eventual collapse of Walker’s scandal-plagued campaign in a matchup against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
But Republicans worry even more about a flashback to 2019, when the governor’s selection of Loeffler turbocharged a feud with Trump that has defined Georgia GOP politics much of this decade — and helped Ossoff and Warnock flip GOP seats.
Though the governor and president have struck an uneasy truce, senior Republicans are girding for the possibility of another Trump-Kemp proxy fight to erupt over this Senate seat.
Credit: Sarah Peacock
Credit: Sarah Peacock
Some veteran political observers, including conservative commentator Martha Zoller, give Collins an early edge thanks to his popularity in the party’s MAGA circles. But they don’t count Dooley out.
“Georgia voters don’t know Dooley and many are scratching their heads, asking themselves why Gov. Kemp took this path,” she said. “But we’ve got a race now.”
As for Ossoff, both a top Republican target and a formidable campaigner, he’s already gearing up for a bruising 2026 battle.
“All challengers are welcome,” he said.
‘Put forth our best’
If anything, the run-up to Dooley’s announcement showed just how combustible this race is shaping up to be.
Though Kemp successfully pressured Insurance Commissioner John King to quit the race, his ability to control the field has its limits.
Carter’s camp declared he was staying in with a jab that “politicians don’t elect our senators.” Collins, meanwhile, launched his bid with a flurry of endorsements — including several key Kemp allies.
Dooley, for his part, tried to send a message of his own with his launch: He may be a political newcomer but he won’t be a pushover. His football-themed ad leaned into his decades of coaching as a source of “hope and opportunity” to communities, while contrasting himself with other politicians “climbing the D.C. political ladder.”
The outsider appeal echoed the playbook that helped Kemp win the governor’s office in 2018 — one of many signs of the governor’s unusually hands-on approach that breaks with political tradition in Georgia.
In the last open GOP Senate race in 2014, then-Gov. Nathan Deal steered clear of backing a candidate in a race that David Perdue ultimately captured. University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said that’s long been the norm.
“Historically, Georgia politicians don’t get involved in anyone else’s race. They don’t want to risk losing their capital,” Bullock said. “Kemp’s popularity in Georgia is soaring, but it’s always difficult to transfer that over to another candidate.”
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
But Kemp and his allies know far more is at stake than in 2014, when Georgia was still a GOP stronghold and the Republican primary proved to be the main event. And a divisive Republican campaign could bring lasting damage.
“A nasty primary could drain all these candidates of crucial resources they will need for an expensive general election,” said Nathan Price, a University of North Georgia political scientist. “A nasty primary also runs the risk of depressing turnout if the party fails to successfully coalesce around one candidate.”
Democrats won’t be caught flat-footed, and Ossoff is one of the most formidable Senate incumbents facing a competitive race in 2026. He enters the contest with sky-high name recognition, more than $15 million in the bank and a proven record of winning over the suburban swing voters who could decide the 2026 contest.
That leaves Dooley with the challenge of proving why a lawyer-turned-coach who spent most of his career avoiding politics is the best choice to help Republicans flip the seat.
For Dooley, the answer boils down to frustration with Democratic leadership earlier this decade, even though Republicans now control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
In his pitch to voters, he blames Ossoff’s support for then-President Joe Biden’s policies on high inflation, foreign policy blunders, illegal immigration and the “woke stuff” of cultural debates.
It’s a familiar message — even if the messenger is new. Courtney Kramer, a strategist with deep ties to the GOP grassroots, said Dooley’s name recognition and background may give him a real shot at building momentum. But she cautioned that the jury is still out.
“This race is not a time for us to play experimental games with name recognition — it’s time for us to put forth our best and brightest,” she said. “I’m not sure if Dooley brings that to the table just yet. But that could change.”
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