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There is a new Republican candidate who will jump into one of the most important Senate races in the 2026 midterm elections.
Former longtime football coach Derek Dooley highlighted his outsider status, targeting Georgia Democrat Sen. John Ossoff, and showed his support when President Donald Trump declared his candidacy on Monday.
“I’m running because our state needs new leadership in Washington, DC. Professional politicians like John Ossoff are the problem,” Dooley said in a statement and video when he launched the campaign.
Dooley argued that “Ossoff is interested in protecting his political future, opposes everything the Trump administration works to achieve, and voting repeatedly on the extreme left, so our state has no voice in the US Senate, which reflects the values of Georgia.”
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And he pledged that if he was elected to the Senate, “I will implement his agenda, support his administration, and work with President Trump to advance our country.”
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The Senate competition in Georgia is very important for Republicans who are looking to expand their current 53-47 Senate majority as they see Ossoff running for reelection on the battlefield Trump posted significantly in last year’s presidential contest.
Republicans consider Sen. John Ossoff the most vulnerable Democrat to run for reelection in the 2026 midterm elections. (AP)
Dooley, the son of Vince Dooley, the late college at Georgia University of Football, was the son of Vince Dooley, who later served as head coach at Louisiana Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee, and was an assistant coach for the National Football League.
This is his first run in public office, but Republican sources confirm to Fox News that they are expected to get approval from Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s popular two-term conservative Republican governor.
Dooley will now be the third major Republican candidate in Georgia’s Senate race.
Former longtime college and professional football coach Derek Dooley declared his candidacy for the Republican Senate nomination in Georgia on Monday. (Derek Dooley Campaign)
Rep. Mike Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company representing the large strip of urban, suburban and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta, announced his candidacy a week ago. Trump’s ally and House supporter Collins introduced his support for the president in launching the campaign.
And Rep. Buddy Carter, who has represented Georgia’s coastal districts for 10 years, launched his Senate campaign in the spring. He also seeks the president’s support.
Dooley appears to be taking a jab with his two rivals for the nomination, saying, “I am not part of a political organization and I am not spending my life climbing the political ladder in DC.”
He said, “I vowed to run to put Georgia first and bring common sense to the DC Georgians. I know that biological men should not play in women’s sports.
Dooley is Kemp’s longtime friend, and two of the governor’s top political advisors support Dooley in the Senate run.
Though he was heavily recruited by national Republicans, he took on Ossov but launched his own Senate campaign in 2026 earlier this year, Kemp, who recently revealed he would support Dooley.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was interviewed by Fox News Digital at the Republican Governors Association Conference held in Washington, DC on February 20, 2025 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Meanwhile, Trump’s political trajectory in Georgia and Republican sources confirmed there was an agreement between the president’s political tactics and Kemp’s political team, and that there could be a candidate who could be united to take on Ossoff in Senate races.
These sources also confirmed that Kemp and Trump, the ultimate kingmakers of GOP politics, met last month to discuss Senate race in Georgia.
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But when the governor named Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee soccer coach, a source close to the president’s political team said, “I was told to stop because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward by anyone.”
Donald Trump will shake hands with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Friday, October 4, 2024, after speaking at a temporary relief shelter when he visited a Hurricane Helen-affected area in Evans, Georgia (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
And when Kemp and his team moved forward with Dooley, it disrupts Trump’s advisors. Trump’s adviser, sources said, was “already pretty frustrated” when Kemp took on Ossov in Senate race earlier this year.
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“We had a deal to work together,” Trump Orbit’s top political source recently told Fox News. “Kemp went out on his own. It made me irritated and pissed off Trump’s orbit.”
However, a source close to the governor told Fox News that it was virtually untrue that they were told to stand up to Dooley. And sources added that it was as it was, meaning that Kemp said he wanted to work with the president and his team.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in swing state in New Hampshire. He covers campaign trails from coast to coast. ”
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