In Georgia’s GOP Runoffs, Trump and Kemp Pick Their Sides

The final stretch of Georgia’s Republican runoffs has become a test of two political names that still carry heavy weight with GOP voters: President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp.

The endorsement map is now clear in the two biggest Republican contests still unresolved. In the race for governor, Trump and Kemp are both behind Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. In the race for U.S. Senate, they are split: Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, while Kemp is backing Derek Dooley.

That makes the closing days unusually simple for voters trying to understand the power structure. The governor’s race has become a consolidation behind Jones. The Senate race has become a Trump-versus-Kemp proxy fight, even though both candidates have worked to present themselves as aligned with Trump’s agenda.

Governor: Trump and Kemp Both Back Burt Jones

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones entered the governor’s race with Trump’s endorsement already in place. That support helped Jones claim the main MAGA lane early, even as health care executive Rick Jackson entered the race with enormous personal spending and an outsider message.

Kemp’s late endorsement of Jones adds a different kind of weight. Kemp and Trump have had a strained political history, but in the governor’s runoff they are now on the same side. Kemp is backing the man who has served as his lieutenant governor and who would keep the governor’s office in Republican hands if he wins in November.

For Jones, the timing matters. The endorsement gives him support from the two most important Republican figures in Georgia politics: Trump with the national GOP base, and Kemp with the state’s governing wing.

Rick Jackson, meanwhile, has built his campaign around money, business experience and a conservative outsider pitch. He has drawn support from figures including Insurance Commissioner John King and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But he does not have the two biggest endorsements in the race.

Senate: Trump Picks Collins, Kemp Stays With Dooley

The Senate runoff is more divided.

Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in the closing days of the race, giving Collins the endorsement both Republican candidates had openly wanted. Collins, a congressman from Georgia’s 10th District, has run as a hard-line Trump ally and has tried to make loyalty to the president central to his campaign.

Derek Dooley, the former college football coach and son of Georgia coaching legend Vince Dooley, has Kemp’s endorsement. Kemp has argued that Dooley, as a political outsider, is the stronger general-election candidate against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

That split gives the Senate race a different shape from the governor’s contest. Collins now has Trump. Dooley has Kemp. The winner will face Ossoff in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.

Democrats Are Already Set

On the Democratic side, the top of the ticket is already largely settled. Sen. Jon Ossoff is seeking reelection and did not face a competitive primary. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic nomination for governor.

That means the Republican runoffs are deciding who will complete the fall matchups. The GOP nominee for governor will face Bottoms. The GOP Senate nominee will face Ossoff.

For suburban voters in North Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett, the endorsement fight is not abstract. These races will help shape the fall campaign in some of the state’s most contested suburbs, where Kemp has remained popular with many Republicans and Trump continues to command loyalty from much of the party base.

The Bottom Line

So far, the endorsement board looks like this: Trump and Kemp are both with Burt Jones for governor. Trump is with Mike Collins for Senate. Kemp is with Derek Dooley for Senate. Rick Jackson has notable conservative supporters, but not Trump or Kemp. Democrats are waiting for the Republican runoffs to finish.

That is the simple version of Georgia politics this week. In the governor’s race, the party’s two biggest Republican names have aligned. In the Senate race, they have not.

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