Georgia runoff spotlights Kemp–Dooley pay-to-play allegations

Kemp and – In Georgia’s June 16 Senate runoff, accusations of pay-to-play politics are colliding with a campaign built around anti-corruption. Reports cite school-security contracts tied to Derek Dooley’s brother and companies connected to Gov. Brian Kemp, while lawmaker

The political fight in Georgia isn’t just about who wins a Senate seat on November’s ballot. It’s also about what voters might be asked to tolerate in order to get there—an argument now centered on Gov. Brian Kemp’s close ties to former football coach Derek Dooley and allegations that those connections blurred into pay-to-play politics.

At the center of the spotlight is a June 16 runoff: two Republicans—Kemp-backed Derek Dooley and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins—will compete to face incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in November. Ossoff has been using an Atlanta rally to frame his reelection effort around fighting corruption in Washington.

Collins and Dooley earned the highest percentages of votes on midterm primary day in May. with Collins leading polling for weeks before election day. Dooley surged late to close the gap, building enough momentum to win a place in the runoff. And while Kemp has stayed focused on the Senate race that comes at the same time Georgia is replacing him as governor. his involvement has also become the fuel for a new wave of scrutiny.

Reports and lawmakers point to a long-running web connecting the Kemp and Dooley families—starting with contracts tied to school security, then expanding to other state contracting and appointments.

A school security company tied to Dooley’s brother

One of the most detailed lines of scrutiny concerns school safety spending and a company linked to Derek Dooley’s brother. A report published by 11Alive says a company owned by Dooley’s brother and described as Kemp’s close personal friend. Daniel. earned millions of dollars after being issued state contracts for security systems in Georgia schools.

Kemp is reported to have publicly promoted the company, called Centegix, during events including a visit to a Douglas County school in 2019 where Daniel Dooley was present. The reporting also describes Kemp later helping pass legislation for grants to schools intended to fund security.

Those grants were issued to public school districts across the state with a dollar amount intended to cover a Centegix system. According to reporting from WSB-TV, as of August 2025, 90% of Georgia public schools use Dooley’s product.

The financial trail drawn by critics doesn’t stop at contracts. Reports also say Dooley donated at least $100,000 to Hardworking Americans, Kemp’s political action committee, and that the same PAC is now funding Derek Dooley’s Senate campaign.

For the governor, the defense is that local control stayed local. In a statement to 11Alive, a spokesperson said the safety grants were given to local school districts and were not directly administered by the state.

“Decisions on how to spend these grants, which vendor(s) to select, or what method of security chosen rests solely with local authorities, and any contracts would be between the local district and their selected recipient,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

11Alive, in an update to its report, said there was not evidence Kemp steered school districts toward contracts with Centegix. Dooley has not publicly addressed the accusations.

The controversy expands beyond the school contracts

Critics say the pattern continues in other business dealings and contracting relationships involving Kemp and buyers tied to his private life.

In reports from Courier Georgia and other outlets. Kemp—who was a businessman before becoming governor—entered the governor’s mansion in 2019 with significant debt tied to Shelter Rock. a company struggling to offload properties along Lake Strom Thurmond. also known as Clarks Hill Lake on the Georgia-South Carolina border.

Two years into his first term, those properties sold through a series of multi-million dollar transactions for more than the 2020 asking price, according to reports. The deeds and transactions were signed by Kemp, records show.

Later. reporting says buyers of those properties—including Donald Richards. president of Network Cabling Infrastructures—were issued state contracts for security and surveillance products for Georgia agencies. Those contracts, the reporting says, led to more than $2 million in payments from the state.

Kemp is also accused of helping pass lottery machine legislation identified as HB 383 to benefit another property buyer. and of appointing a third buyer to the State Charter School Commission. Courier Georgia reports that the buyer appointed to the commission later donated to the Dooley Senate campaign.

In a statement to Courier Georgia, a representative for the governor described the transactions as intended to “disentangle the governor from a longstanding business partnership,” making Kemp less financially involved with buyers he would later work with rather than in cahoots with them.

The spokesperson also said. “Furthermore. the governor has no involvement in the state contracting or procurement process. and there are strict laws in place prohibiting such involvement. HB 383 received broad bipartisan support and underwent a thorough review process before the governor’s decision to sight it. ” adding that the governor maintains strict standards separating personal enterprise from the role of chief executive. as evidenced by the “exact transaction(s)” Courier Georgia was said to be misconstruing.

Georgia lawmakers push for an investigation during a special session

As lawmakers left Atlanta at the end of the 2026 legislative session, the chamber adjourned Sine Die with bills and election reform decisions still on the table. Kemp then called for a special session set to begin June 17.

In an amended proclamation, Kemp said the special session would focus on changes to Georgia’s voting process after the 2020 election. The proclamation also references the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana and the ratification of the gas tax suspension in Georgia, which expired earlier this week.

Now, state lawmakers from Augusta are trying to get something else onto the agenda: an investigation into the Kemp and Dooley families.

On a press call Friday. state Representatives Karlton Howard and Brian Prince said both Kemp and Dooley have refused to answer questions about possible financial entanglements. even as they appear united on the campaign trail. Howard and Prince said statements from the governor’s office have been sent to news outlets.

“This scheme raises obvious questions about possible corruption and pay-to-play politics. but Dooley and Kemp have no shame in any of this in the middle of the GOP U.S. Senate runoff that the governor continues to go across the state doing everything in his power to get his longtime friend elected through this corruption. ” Howard said. “Instead of transparency, we’ve gotten silence.”.

The representatives called for an independent investigation into Daniel Dooley’s company and no-bid government contracts during the special session. Howard said at least 40 legislators have signed on to the statement supporting the request from both sides of the aisle.

Prince said the emphasis should be on getting answers the public can verify.

“This pay to play type of politics is something that we need to see ‘what’s going on,’ ‘who’s being paid,’ and again, ‘why is that’?” Prince said. “We want something independent, so that we can show the people of Georgia just what is happening in the state now.”

Between campaigns and contracts. the fight has taken on a sharper edge—one where the stakes extend beyond a single Senate seat. With June 16 approaching. the question for Georgia voters is whether the denials and explanations are enough. or whether the money trails at the center of these allegations will be subjected to the kind of independent review lawmakers now say the state deserves.

Georgia Senate runoff Brian Kemp Derek Dooley Mike Collins Jon Ossoff pay-to-play politics Centegix school safety grants Daniel Dooley HB 383 lottery machine legislation State Charter School Commission Hardworking Americans PAC Georgia special session June 17