Collins, Dooley advance to runoff in GOP Senate primary

He noted that he led in every poll of the race before the Republican primary and said that bodes well in a midterm election year where turnout is key.

“You’ve got to be able to turn out the Republican voters, and we do that,” Collins said. “We resonate with every part of the Republican Party.”

Dooley campaigned often alongside Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp, who backed him from the start. He told voters that, as a political newcomer, he does not have some of the baggage Collins carries and would be the best match against Ossoff, who is considered a rising star in the Democratic primary.

Kemp’s endorsement of Dooley appeared to factor heavily with undecided voters in the race. President Donald Trump chose not to endorse any of the candidates in the primary.

Two other candidates, John Coyne and Jonathan McColumn, were never serious contenders and received a small percentage of the vote.

Collins was always considered the front-runner in the race, given his lead in polls and fundraising. The owner of a trucking company and son of late Georgia Congressman Mac Collins, he decided to run for the Senate instead of seeking a third term in the U.S. House.

Collins has had success getting bills signed into law, including serving as lead sponsor of the Laken Riley Act, an immigration enforcement bill that became the first piece of legislation signed by Trump in his second term. And Collins earned support among his House colleagues by traveling to back their campaigns in recent years, leading many of them to return the favor by supporting his Senate campaign.

His cheeky and sometimes controversial social media posts earned him street cred among young conservatives, but have been marked by critics as occasionally racist and sexist.

But the biggest mark on Collins’ record came last fall when he and his top political consultant were named as targets of ethics probes into the hiring of an intern who other staffers said earned a check without doing any work. That investigation is still pending.

Dooley, the former University of Tennessee football coach and son of famed Georgia coach Vince Dooley, was hand-picked by Kemp after the governor decided not to run for the seat himself.

Kemp has said that he did not think Carter or Collins could win in November in a swing state like Georgia because they were so closely aligned with Trump. But in backing Dooley, he chose a candidate who had no real political identity before launching a Senate campaign.

Dooley has never served in public office before and did not vote in any elections for roughly 20 years. He said that changed during President Joe Biden’s administration as he became increasingly frustrated by policies under a Democratic president.

This article will be updated.