Derek Dooley, a former University of Georgia football coach, is betting that a personal voting history can help him sell an outsider pitch in Georgia’s Republican Senate primary. Dooley said he did not vote for nearly two decades, a stance he now pairs with a call for more people to cast ballots as he seeks the nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Dooley said he did not vote when Republican Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016 and also did not vote in 2020, when Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. He said he later resumed voting in 2022, backed Brian Kemp for governor, and voted for Trump in 2024. Dooley also told the AP that he wants to inspire more people to vote, saying, “If you’re not vigilant in exercising that right, things can go pretty sideways in our country,” a quote he offered as a warning about abstaining from elections.
Dooley’s campaign narrative emphasizes political freshness rather than political experience. While he supports Trump, Dooley said he is seeking a “fresh outlook” in Washington and insisted lawmakers should not be focused on “their own political career or their political ambitions.” The AP reported that Dooley’s approach will be tested against the broader national role of Trump’s antiestablishment movement, which has shaped campaigning in recent election cycles.
The May 19 primary will determine who Republicans nominate for the general election against Ossoff, and the AP said the winner will be among the most important Republican candidates in the year’s midterm elections, with a chance to help the party preserve its thin Senate majority by ousting Ossoff. Dooley will need to persuade Republican voters who may be looking for candidates tied more closely to Trump’s brand, particularly in a contest that includes two congressmen, Mike Collins and Buddy Carter.
Dooley is the son of legendary University of Georgia coach Vince Dooley and previously built a career outside politics as an attorney and coach. He led the University of Tennessee and was fired after a losing record, then worked as an assistant coach and later in other roles. After stepping away from coaching following the 2023 season, Dooley told the AP that coaching people from a range of backgrounds has helped him prepare to connect with Georgia’s diverse voting population, saying, “In my 30-plus years professional career, it’s never been about me in anything I was doing,” and adding that “It’s about people.”
Dooley said he became interested in politics during Biden’s presidency, when he expressed anger about what he characterized as lax border enforcement, economic policies and support for transgender athletes. He said he has criticized Ossoff over the same issues. He also has outlined policy priorities that include workforce training, reducing home prices by cutting back government regulation, and he has praised the Trump administration’s capture of Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted as Venezuela’s president by U.S. military action in January, according to the AP account.
The AP reported that Kemp has worked to frame Dooley as the political outsider in the race, even as opponents portray that relationship as proof that Dooley is not truly independent. Kemp is a political ally with long ties to Dooley’s family and endorsed Dooley for Senate, bringing establishment weight to the campaign. At an event with the Atlanta Young Republicans on Thursday, Kemp said he was “looking for a political outsider,” and that it “just happened to be a guy that I’ve known for, you know, 50-plus years,” while Dooley stood alongside him.
Kemp and Dooley drew cheers at the event, and some attendees told the AP they had not decided yet but appreciated Dooley’s outsider angle. Others were less convinced. Courtlyn Cook, chair of the Glynn County Republicans in southeast Georgia, said tying Dooley closely to the old establishment governor would not qualify as being an outsider, saying “Completely siloing yourself with the old, establishment governor is not a way to say you’re an outsider,” and adding that voters will remember that Kemp and Trump have not always gotten along, an issue because the president enjoys deep support among Republicans.
Opposition Democrats also used Dooley’s relationship to Kemp against him. The AP reported that Devon Cruz, senior communications adviser for the Democratic Party of Georgia, described Dooley as having “access to the Governor’s political machine,” while Harley Adsit, a spokesperson for Carter’s campaign, called Dooley the “ultimate insider.” Republicans also questioned whether an outsider message will land, with Brian Robinson, a GOP strategist, arguing that Dooley will have to explain why being an outsider matters enough to win votes, saying, “It’s a well-worn path. The saliency of that message probably depends on the mood of the country and the cycle that we’re in,” and adding, “I don’t think we know just yet if that outsider message is what people are looking for.”
In the background, Dooley’s lack of elected experience could either help him or hurt him with voters. Canton resident Vanessa Artigas, 53, told the AP she expects to back Dooley, describing herself as supportive of Kemp and saying she understands why some friends stopped voting, saying, “I think we need to get career politicians out and get the voice of the people in.” University of West Georgia student Timothy Jackson, 19, said he plans to vote for Collins because of his ties to Trump, but remains open to Carter, saying that “Both of them have been in Congress and so they know what it takes,” while adding that “Dooley is going to be hard because he’s never been in that position before.”
The AP also reported that a Kemp-linked group funded an advertisement for Dooley last fall that blamed Collins and Carter for a government shutdown and lumped them together with Ossoff. Carter, a pharmacist, has been active in Georgia politics along the coast for nearly three decades, while Collins, a trucking company co-owner, is the son of a former congressman, according to the AP report.
Collins and Carter have also drawn contrast between themselves and Dooley, while campaigns have accused Dooley of lacking political baggage. A longtime Republican consultant, Jason Shepherd, said Dooley does not carry the same burdens as other candidates and could appeal beyond the right, saying he believes Dooley “can speak not only to voters on the right and Republicans, but the voters in the center who will make the decision,” and saying Ossoff has a voting record that Dooley could criticize. A spokesperson for Collins said the congressman’s actions were approved by the House Communications Standards Commission and criticized Dooley as “a washed-up lawyer and failed coach,” while Dooley’s campaign continues to frame his entry into politics as driven by voting engagement and an outsider message ahead of the May contest.