The Republican nomination for Georgia’s Senate seat will come down to a run-off between Mike Collins and Derek Dooley, meaning that voters will endure another month of nasty campaigning between an internet troll who is currently under investigation and an inexperienced nepo-baby.
“Georgia voters now face a choice between Mike Collins, a scandal-plagued troll that supports policies that hurt Georgians, and Derek Dooley, who has used his friends and family in high places to prop him up to positions he does not deserve,” said American Bridge 21st Century Spokesperson Gus Nathanson. “Regardless of who triumphs in this run-off, Georgians deserve better come November.”
Read more about why neither Mike Collins nor Derek Dooley belongs in the U.S. Senate.
- Mike Collins has a long history of posting problematic and childish content online. This includes sharing a video of white Ole Miss students taunting a Black woman during a protest and making racist gestures at her, as well as tweeting an endorsement of an antisemitic account attacking a reporter for being Jewish. He also mocked the assassination of John F. Kennedy and called for killing undocumented immigrants by referencing the Pinochet Air meme.
- Collins is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly misusing taxpayer funds to pay a “phantom intern,” who reportedly did no work. The intern in question was the girlfriend of Collins’ policy advisor, Brandon Phillips.
- As a congressman, Collins has supported policies that would make life worse for Georgians, such as raising the retirement age, opposing the Affordable Care Act, and supporting a flat tax system that would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Georgians.
- Collins also supports Trump’s economy-wrecking moves, such as price-hiking tariffs, the Iran war that is driving up gas prices, and DOGE gutting jobs in Georgia. He is also a January 6th supporter and an anti-abortion extremist.
- Derek Dooley is a nepo-baby who admitted he only got coaching jobs because of his last name.
- Dooley was a disastrous football coach with a reportedly awful demeanor. He was considered one of the worst head coaches in SEC history during his time at Tennessee, described as a “laughingstock” by fans and media. Despite not achieving any notable accolades as a coach, Dooley earned over $14.6 million from public universities during his coaching career.
- He also compared his football team’s struggles to those of Nazi Germany during World War II at Omaha Beach.
- Dooley’s policy stances are no better than his coaching skills. He opposes the extension of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies, which could result in 460,000 Georgians losing health insurance coverage. He also supports the Big Beautiful Bill which is estimated to kick 500,000 Georgians off of Medicaid.
- Dooley also praised the tariffs which caused economic pain and anxiety for Georgians. Tariffs slammed Georgians with increased housing costs and grocery bills and constricted activity at Georgia’s ports.
- Dooley backs the Iran war which is causing gas prices to soar across Georgia.
- Dooley supports “every bit” of the DOGE layoffs and funding cuts. This resulted in $815 million being gutted from Georgia nonprofits and organizations, and 2,300 Atlanta-based CDC employees being fired.
Published: May 20, 2026