President Donald Trump’s endorsement of a Republican lawmaker in the 2026 Georgia Senate primary is exposing fault lines in his own MAGA base, according to a new report.
“The final days of Georgia’s Republican primary campaigns have exposed internal party fault lines, produced unusual alliances and will test the party’s ability to consolidate quickly to match Democrats’ head start on the general election campaign,” reported the Associated Press’ Bill Barrow on Monday. Describing how Trump recently endorsed Rep. Mike Collins in his campaign against former football coach Derek Dooley, while Trump backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over billionaire Rick Jackson in the gubernatorial race, Barrow concluded that the Georgia elections exposes deeper rifts within the party.
“There’s a lot of division in the MAGA world and across the Republican Party,” Debbie Dooley, a former tea party organizer who is backing Jones for governor and Dooley in their respective campaigns, told Barrow. (Dooley the organizer is not related to Dooley the candidate.)”
She then told Barrow, “We better get it together after Tuesday.”
“Kemp’s and Trump’s differing courses highlight their complicated relationship — Kemp certified Biden’s electors in 2020 over Trump’s objections — and the results Tuesday will tests both men’s internal party influence as their final terms play out,” Barrow wrote. He added that Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who Trump opposes for refusing to go along with his plot to steal the 2020 election, argues his own strategizing is about maximizing the GOP’s advantage in November.
“I’m not worried about any political equations or keeping score,” Kemp said Monday. “It’s making sure we have the right people at the top of the ticket.”
Last month Politico did an in-depth report on how Georgia, a make-or-break swing state, has emerged as a key pickup for both parties.
"The old-guard of the Republican Party in Georgia has fallen after withstanding MAGA's furor since 2020, replaced by a new breed of candidates — up and down the ballot — closely aligned with President Donald Trump," Erin Doherty and Alec Hernandez reported in Politico. "On Tuesday, the Trump allies marched on: Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones clinched a spot in the gubernatorial runoff on Tuesday alongside billionaire Rick Jackson, who told supporters he'd govern like the president 'with a southern tone.' In the GOP Senate primary, Rep. Mike Collins, a staunch MAGA ally, advanced to a runoff. And House candidates Jim Kingston, Houston Gaines and Clay Fuller won their races by wide margins, boosted by the president’s endorsement."
Doherty and Hernandez added, "Meanwhile, longtime Trump antagonists — especially those who denied the 2020 election was 'stolen' — lost their primary battles: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr and Gabriel Sterling, a former top Raffensperger aide.”