Former college football coach Derek Dooley enters Georgia Senate race

Former college football coach Derek Dooley launched his bid for the Senate seat in Georgia on Monday, setting up a crowded GOP primary for the chance to topple incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s midterm elections.

Dooley formerly coached at the University of Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. He’s leaning into being the son of legendary University of Georgia Coach Vince Dooley, who won a national championship for the Georgia Bulldogs in 1980.

In his announcement video, Dooley opens by speaking of one of “the great milestones” for him as a kid was when he gained his father’s trust to be on the sidelines of games. He also praised President Donald Trump, who hasn’t yet endorsed in the primary.

“Trump campaigned on things, and he's turned them into results. I haven't known a president in my lifetime who's been able to achieve these kinds of results,” Dooley said, and blasted Ossoff for ushering in “woke stuff” that Georgians do not agree with.

Trump’s endorsement could be pivotal in the race, which has already attracted Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter. Both congressmen are close allies of the president.

A person familiar with Dooly’s campaign, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said Dooley would “work hard for every endorsement, and that certainly includes President Trump.”

Several Georgia Republicans told POLITICO Dooley is not well known in GOP circles in the state and was recruited to run by Gov. Brian Kemp, a longtime family friend, who has been working for months behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for Dooley’s Senate launch.

“Dooley is expected to have the governor’s support,” the person familiar with Dooley’s campaign did not provide a timeline on when the endorsement would be rolled out.

Dooley’s critics said he has few connections to party officials in the state, and leaning into his role as a football coach is a risk.

“This chaotic, crowded Republican primary just got messier with the entrance of failed and fired former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who has failed to live up to his family name throughout his career,” Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey said in a statement.

The Washington Examiner recently reported that Dooley did not vote in several recent elections, and when he was registered in New York in 2020 did not register as a Republican. He also has not donated to Trump’s previous campaigns.