Trump backs – President Donald Trump is throwing more support behind Lt. Gov. Burt Jones ahead of Georgia’s June 16 runoff, while Republican voters prepare to decide a contested U.S. Senate matchup that polling shows is nearly dead even. The outcomes will shape who Republic
For a state election that could come down to a handful of votes, President Donald Trump didn’t just endorse candidates—he leaned hard into the final stretch, telling reporters he loves the inflation when asked about the latest numbers.
Next week, Georgia voters head to polls for the primary runoff as the second stage of the midterm cycle closes. The attention is on the Republican governor’s race and the U.S. Senate seat, both of which are being treated as tightly contested fights in the closing days.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will face healthcare CEO Rick Jackson in the November governor’s race. The matchup sets two Republicans against each other after months of internal conflict within the party. Jones is Trump-endorsed, while Jackson has been campaigning to steal MAGA voters by presenting himself as a political outsider.
On the Democratic side, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, won her primary handily. Bottoms has been presenting a united front with incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection this fall. They attended a rally in Atlanta last month to show a unified Democratic ticket and endorsed each other for their respective offices.
Ossoff’s path to November will depend on the winner of a contested Republican Senate primary runoff. The next matchup will be against either Rep. Mike Collins or former college football coach Derek Dooley.
Collins is described as the MAGA candidate. but he has not been endorsed by the president. despite reports that his staff hired members of Trump’s former campaign team. Dooley, meanwhile, represents the Gov. Brian Kemp-era Republican in Georgia and is endorsed by Kemp. Their contest is clouded by allegations involving a possible “pay-to-play” scandal between their families dating back to Kemp’s first days in the governor’s mansion.
Runoffs in Georgia will likely come down to the wire on June 16.
Polls show Collins and Dooley have been equally matched. Collins is the MAGA candidate, and Dooley represents Kemp’s wing of the party. In polling from the end of May. Collins was predicted to win the runoff with varying degrees of support—from a forecast of a win with 55% of the vote to a range down to 46%—according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Insider Advantage has not yet published June polling ahead of the runoff. In a post on X on Wednesday, the firm reported that the two were “virtually tied for the GOP Senate nomination,” adding that they expected a “photo finish.”
The sharpest edges of both campaigns are tied to controversy, and opponents are using that uncertainty against each other. Collins has faced a House ethics investigation after he was accused of paying thousands of dollars to a woman romantically linked to one of his staffers for an extended period of time while she held no real position and did no work for his office. Collins repeatedly denied wrongdoing during the investigation and kept the staffer as part of his campaign.
That staffer was later fired by Collins after posting a social media comment on behalf of the Collins campaign mocking a woman who attempted suicide after accusing Matt Lauer of rape. The post was later deleted. Collins apologized and called it “despicable and unauthorized.”
During an Atlanta Press Club debate, Dooley asked Collins about the investigation into his staff. Collins said “anybody can file a complaint,” and he was ultimately proud of the work his team had done.
Dooley’s campaign has faced accusations tied to a “pay-to-play” scandal with the governor and his brother Daniel Dooley. according to reporting from 11Alive and other outlets. Daniel Dooley owns CENTEGIX. a company that sells panic button systems for school districts—a feature later made mandatory in Georgia schools by Kemp. School districts were issued grants that would cover the cost of the CENTEGIX system. WSB-TV reported that by August 2025, 90% of schools in Georgia used Dooley’s product.
Daniel Dooley made millions of dollars and donated more than $100,000 to Hardworking Americans, Kemp’s political action committee, which is now funding Derek Dooley’s Senate campaign.
Kemp has denied any accusations of wrongdoing, but state lawmakers have requested an independent investigation during the general assembly’s special session later this month.
Trump’s latest move for the governor’s race is even more direct. He has doubled down with his support for Burt Jones and will be hosting another “telerally” for Jones on June 10. It will be the second event Trump has hosted for Jones during his campaign.
Both Jones and Jackson claim to be the “Trump candidate,” even though only Jones has a formal endorsement. Jones has repeatedly called out Jackson over that claim during events and meet-and-greets across the state.
At an event in Cumming. Georgia last week—where Jackson now lives on his multi-million dollar estate—Jones argued that Jackson has been using Trump’s name to mislead voters. saying Jackson has been putting Trump on flyers and in campaign ads. Jones also said Jackson used comments from Kemp in an ad despite Kemp not endorsing either candidate.
“So think about that for a second. When a guy comes out of the gates. and he comes out trying to mislead voters right out of the gates. you start looking at their track record. ” Jones said. “I’m telling you, I’ve said it before. Best way to see what somebody’s going to do in the future is just look at what they’ve done in the past.”.
Bottoms. the Democratic nominee. responded to Trump’s telerally and endorsement of Jones by saying it was “clear that Donald Trump wants to pick the next governor of Georgia.” She added in a statement that “Burt Jones refuses to stand up for Georgians as they face higher costs and threats to their health care because of Donald Trump’s reckless policies. ” and said Jones “isn’t running to serve Georgians. he’s running to be Trump’s lackey.” Bottoms said: “As governor. I will always put Georgia’s families and Georgia’s economy first and I will never be afraid to stand up against the chaos coming from the White House when it hurts our state.”.
The runoff election itself is scheduled for June 16 across the state. The Republican Senate race and the Republican gubernatorial race are only two of multiple statewide races on the ballot later this month.
Georgia runoffs Donald Trump Burt Jones Rick Jackson Keisha Lance Bottoms Jon Ossoff Mike Collins Derek Dooley Brian Kemp U.S. Senate primary governor runoff CENTEGIX panic button systems