President Donald Trump’s political muscle is being put to the test once again in Georgia, where a pair of high-stakes Republican runoff elections on Tuesday will determine not only the GOP’s nominees, but also whether Trump’s endorsements still carry the decisive weight they’ve wielded across much of the MAGA era.
In the state’s closely watched Senate runoff, Trump jumped into the race just 48 hours before voting ends, throwing his support behind Rep. Mike Collins over former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.
“Mike Collins is a true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR, who has been with us from the very beginning, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be your next United States Senator,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social.
The endorsement escalates an already intense proxy battle between Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who backed Dooley and deployed his powerful political operation behind the former football coach.
The race will determine which Republican takes on Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests. With Ossoff the only Democrat senator seeking reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, Republicans view Georgia as one of their top pickup opportunities.
Collins, a trucking company owner and current congressman, finished first in last month’s primary with nearly 41% of the vote but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Dooley captured roughly 30% and has presented himself as a political outsider who can appeal beyond the GOP base.
After Trump’s endorsement, Dooley responded diplomatically.
“I have great respect for President Trump,” he wrote on X, adding that “the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people.”
Trump, meanwhile, contrasted the two candidates sharply.
“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” the president wrote before praising Collins as a “very successful Businessman” who is “always fighting tirelessly for our America First Agenda.”
The clash highlights the lingering tension between Trump and Kemp, whose relationship fractured after the governor certified Georgia’s 2020 election results despite Trump’s objections.
But the Senate race isn’t the only place Trump’s influence is being tested.
In Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump has repeatedly endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, calling him “my good friend and your next Governor.”
Yet Jones faces a formidable challenge from billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who has poured more than $100 million of his own fortune into the race.
Adding another wrinkle, Trump’s son appeared to break from his father’s preferred candidate on the eve of the election.
Donald Trump Jr. stopped short of endorsing Jackson but issued a lengthy statement praising the businessman as a “patriot” and highlighting his investments in domestic manufacturing and energy infrastructure.
“Regardless of what happens in the Georgia Governor’s race tomorrow, we should celebrate the patriots building up MAGA and an America First economy like Rick Jackson has,” Trump Jr. wrote.
He later clarified: “This is not an endorsement of Rick and I think Burt Jones is a great guy too. My only point is that no matter who wins tomorrow, it’s a victory for MAGA.”
Jones has also received backing from Kemp, who argued Monday that Republicans must nominate candidates capable of winning in November.
“My mission is to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November,” Kemp said. “That’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”
Meanwhile, Jackson has assembled his own coalition of national conservatives. Sen. Ted Cruz endorsed him Friday and campaigned with him ahead of the runoff.
“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story,” Cruz told Fox News. “I also think he’s positioned to win. The stakes are too high. We can’t afford to lose Georgia.”
Cruz rejected suggestions that his support for Jackson represented a break with the president.
“The president and I agree on the vast majority of races,” Cruz said. “What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win.”
The twin runoffs have become a measuring stick for the competing forces shaping the modern Republican Party: Trump’s personal endorsement power, Kemp’s entrenched state-level machine, and the growing influence of self-funded outsiders willing to spend enormous sums to bypass traditional political structures.
