President Trump Endorses Mike Collins in Georgia Senate Runoff
NYT > U.S. > Politics — 2026-06-14 01:38:00 — www.nytimes.com
Trump Endorses Mike Collins in Georgia Senate Runoff, Repeats False Claims About 2020 Election
Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Representative Mike Collins in the Republican Senate primary runoff in Georgia, offering a high-profile endorsement just days before the vote. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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’s Endorsement and Political Calculus
By backing Collins, a staunch loyalist and immigration hard-liner, over Derek Dooley—a former University of Tennessee football coach—Trump is aiming to influence one of the nation’s most competitive battlegrounds. Collins led Dooley by about 10 percentage points in the initial round of primary voting, and recent polls show him ahead in the runoff.
Trump’s endorsement has proven to be a powerful force in Republican primaries, often reshaping the dynamics of close races. The move comes as Dooley, supported by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, has campaigned on a “Georgia First” message echoing Trump’s own “America First” slogan. Despite Dooley’s efforts to win Trump’s favor, including a lengthy White House meeting, the former president chose Collins, whose campaign has brought on several of Trump’s own political advisers.
False Claims About the 2020 Election
In his endorsement post, Trump also revisited his widely debunked claims about the 2020 election results in Georgia. He criticized Dooley for acknowledging the reality that Trump lost the state, writing disapprovingly that Dooley “said that I lost Georgia in 2020.” Trump then repeated his false assertion that he carried Georgia in the 2020 election, despite extensive evidence and multiple recounts confirming his loss.
This is not the first time Trump has attacked Georgia officials or candidates who have refused to support his efforts to overturn the 2020 results. As recently as 2024, Trump publicly referred to Governor Kemp as a “bad guy” for not joining his attempt to reverse the outcome, though their relationship has since become less publicly contentious.
Conclusion
Trump’s endorsement of Mike Collins highlights his ongoing influence in Republican primaries and his continued reliance on false claims about the 2020 election. By disparaging candidates who acknowledge the certified results, Trump continues to promote misinformation that has been repeatedly disproven by official counts and court rulings. As the Georgia Senate race intensifies, Trump’s involvement is likely to remain a central—and controversial—factor.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/politics/trump-mike-collins-georgia-senate-runoff.html