Tension between Trump and Kemp teams over nomination of Georgia Republican Senate candidate

The internal battle in the Republican Party over the political situation in Georgia never ends, especially when it comes to a Senate race. New reports indicate lingering tensions between the teams of President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp, who already have a contentious history. Both leaders, for now, do not agree on the profile of the candidate who should face Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in the midterms, a key contest for the GOP to expand its majority in the Upper House, since Ossoff is considered the most vulnerable blue candidate.

Primarily, the name that generated friction is that of Derek Dooley, former University of Tennessee soccer coach and personal friend of Kemp, Fox News Digital reported, citing Trump team officials.

According to the media outlet, the governor for Georgia wanted to move forward with the choice of Dooley, son of legend Vince Dooley, as a candidate, but, according to a source close to Trump's entourage, "they were told to stand down, because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward on anybody."

Particularly, Fox News sources said there began to be "irritation" from the Trump team when Kemp tried to move forward with Dooley's nomination without the president's approval.

"We had a deal to work together," one of the sources said. "Kemp went out on his own—which has frustrated and pissed off the Trump orbit."

He added, "The best option for the GOP in Georgia was and is Brian Kemp. Unfortunately, he has chosen the path of the weak and—instead of leading—has decided to circumvent and self-anoint a candidate no one has heard of and the president hasn’t met."

The source's words against Kemp come after the Republican governor has been pressured by his colleagues at the national level to take on Ossoff directly. However, the governor ruled out his own candidacy and decided to push the figure of Dooley, seen as a "consensus" option within the more moderate Republicans.

However, in the MAGA orbit, the favorite candidate is none other than Representative Mike Collins, representative of Georgia's 10th district, who, according to various reports, would also have the approval of the president's entourage and would officially announce his candidacy for the Senate next week.

Collins has gained popularity for being a staunch ally of the MAGA movement and, in addition, having pushed for the Laken Riley Act.

Between Collins and Dooley there is a stark difference in candidate profiles. While the moderates want to push a figure who will succeed in penetrating as many voting populations as possible, the more conservative ones are looking for a candidate who excites the base and has, unlike in other years, the unequivocal backing of the Republican Party of Georgia, a swing state of extreme complexity.

While moderates consider a consensus candidate a safe bet, the more conservative ones believe that the mistake in the past was in not supporting the strongman backed by Trump. Collins, moreover, has a big advantage in his resume: the 10th district of Georgia, which he represents, covers urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta; that is, he has on his back a major win within a southeastern bastion with a lot of electoral diversity.

In this scenario, Georgia once again consolidates itself as a pivotal state for the midterm elections. The race will not only define who will represent the GOP in the 2026 elections but will also serve to measure forces between the leadership of Trump, now back in the White House, and the local power of Kemp, who keeps his political aspirations intact.