With little more than 48 hours to go before Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate primary, political newcomer Derek Dooley — former head football coach of the University of Tennessee and someone who freely admits not voting for twenty years — is expected to win one of the two top spots required for the runoff on June 16.
That means Dooley will face one of two House Members, both of whom are strong supporters of President Donald Trump but neither of whom has his endorsement for nomination to face Sen. Jon Ossoff in the fall.
According to the most recent Quantus Insights poll last week, Rep. Mike Collins leads Dooley by 33% to 23%, with Rep. Buddy Carter trailing at 14%. These results came a week after a University of Georgia poll showed Collins leading Carter 22% to 13%, and Dooley third at 11%.
“Derek Dooley is gaining traction, challenging Collins and Carter,” said Atlanta publisher and veteran conservative commentator Phil Kent. “Dooley could be poised to knock one of them out of first or second place.”
As to why political newcomer Dooley would show such sudden strength, most Georgia sources cited his endorsement by two-term GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and the all-out effort of the governor’s formidable organization behind the former coach.
“His talk of Georgia First — putting the problems of the state before anything — is catching on,” said businessman Dan Eberhart, who got his start in GOP politics on the winning first race of the late Sen. Paul Coverdell in 1992. “Dooley is going into the primary with momentum, while Collins is hitting a ceiling.”
Former Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., a past chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, agreed.
“Collins will be in a runoff and I think it is a toss-up between Dooley and Carter to get into the runoff with him,” Linder said. “But I would bet on Dooley since Kemp is going all out for him and he has had a remarkable organization.”
