Former college football coach and attorney Derek Dooley launched his bid Monday morning for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, a prime pick-up opportunity for Republicans next year.
Georgia Republicans hope to win back the seat from Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is in his first term; it’s a major target for the party to maintain or expand its slim Senate majority. Democrats have overperformed in the traditionally red state in recent elections and hold both Senate seats. Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by less than half a percentage point, while Donald Trump won by just over 2 points in 2024.
Georgia Republicans had pinned their hopes on Gov. Brian Kemp’s making a run for the seat, but Kemp passed, opening up the field to a wide range of candidates, none of whom have won statewide or have the level of name recognition or fundraising prowess of the popular governor, who has had a testy relationship with Trump.
Kemp had been pushing Dooley, whose father was a University of Georgia legend, to get into the race. He has hired some of the governor’s advisers to consult on his nascent bid, a source familiar with Dooley’s campaign launch said.
Dooley joins a field that includes two sitting members of the House, both hoping to capture the MAGA wing of the GOP. Rep. Mike Collins, who has an active and sometimes controversial social media profile, and Rep. Buddy Carter are both in the race.
Dooley hopes to bridge the gap between the Kemp wing of the party and MAGA loyalists after Trump sparred publicly with Kemp and other Georgia officials who refused to challenge his loss in the 2020 election in the state.
Kemp and Trump have since repaired their relationship and have vowed to work together to help support the best candidate to beat Ossoff.
Dooley believes he fits the bill. The son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, the younger Dooley is making his first foray into politics. His launch video starts with old film of his father’s coaching days at the University of Georgia and makes a quick pivot to promising to work with Trump if he is elected to the Senate.
“Unlike Ossoff, I’ll work with President Trump to implement his agenda, support his Administration, and move our country forward,” Dooley said in a statement. “I’m not part of the political establishment, and I haven’t spent my life climbing the D.C. political ladder.”
Dooley’s team also pointed out that his father endorsed Trump for president in June 2016, before Trump had taken command of the Republican Party and even though he rarely waded into politics. Vince Dooley died in 2022.
Republicans are desperate not to repeat the mistakes of 2022. Trump championed former football star Herschel Walker to take on Sen. Raphael Warnock, only to see him lose by about 3 points amid missteps and revelations about his past, including allegations of domestic abuse.
There’s plenty of precedent for football stars’ parlaying their popularity into political success. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, of Alabama, was the coach at Auburn University before he entered politics; he’s now running for governor. Longtime Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne spent three terms in the House. And former University of Tennessee quarterback and NFL player Heath Shuler represented North Carolina in the House for eight years.
“The foundation of football is the American Spirit,” Dooley said in his statement. “You work hard, you play by the rules, you keep fighting when adversity hits—you have a fair shot at achieving your dreams. As a coach, I wanted that for all my players. As your next U.S. Senator, I want that for all Georgians—and all Americans.”
Dooley had an uneven career as a head coach. He spent three seasons at Louisiana Tech and three seasons at Tennessee and had only one season over .500. He finished his head coaching career with a 32-41 record. The bulk of his career was as an assistant at both the college and professional levels.
Democrats are eager to play into the fissures between Georgia Republicans and the national party, which they hope will give Ossoff an advantage.
“Already seen as a weak candidate by the Trump White House, Derek Dooley is going to quickly discover his father’s fame won’t win him a Senate seat,” said Lauren French, spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC. “And as Republicans squabble among themselves, Jon Ossoff will continue to push for lower costs, better health care, and more jobs for Georgians.”
