{"id":2972,"date":"2026-06-15T21:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T04:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/republican-divides-and-strange-alliances-emerge-ahead-of-georgia-runoff\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T21:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T04:03:59","slug":"republican-divides-and-strange-alliances-emerge-ahead-of-georgia-runoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/republican-divides-and-strange-alliances-emerge-ahead-of-georgia-runoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican divides and strange alliances emerge ahead of Georgia runoff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ALPHARETTA, Ga. (AP) \u2014 The final days of Georgia\u2019s Republican primary campaigns have exposed internal party fault lines, produced unusual alliances and will test the party\u2019s ability to consolidate quickly to match Democrats\u2019 head start on the general election campaign.<\/p>

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The melee, including last-minute endorsements from President Donald Trump and outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, was on full display Monday ahead of Tuesday\u2019s runoff. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley are competing for the party\u2019s nomination for U.S. Senate, while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson are running for governor.<\/p>\n

Trump and Kemp are aligned behind Jones but split in the Senate race. Top grassroots organizers are divided too. Even Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a former rival to Trump, stepped into the mix on Jackson\u2019s behalf, putting him at odds with the president and governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of division in the MAGA world and across the Republican Party,\u201d said Debbie Dooley, an original national tea party organizer who is backing Jones for governor but Dooley for Senate. (She\u2019s not related to the candidate.) \u201cWe better get it together after Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kemp insisted there is a common denominator.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I\u2019m doing is to win in November,\u201d he said Monday after campaigning for Jones and Derek Dooley at separate events in metro Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Kemp has backed Derek Dooley for months in the Senate race, arguing it will take an outsider to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Yet Kemp campaigned for the first time Monday with Jones, a day after he endorsed the lieutenant governor despite Jackson\u2019s outsider campaign. In the governor\u2019s race, Kemp reasoned that Jones is the right man to defeat Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.<\/p>

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Trump, meanwhile, has backed Jones since last August, rewarding him for his loyalty as part of Trump\u2019s alternate Electoral College slate in the 2020 scheme to overturn Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s presidential victory. But the president waited until the final weekend to choose Collins over Dooley, with a social media post that noted Dooley has backed Trump\u2019s falsehoods about his loss to Biden.<\/p>\n

Kemp\u2019s and Trump\u2019s differing courses highlight their complicated relationship \u2014 Kemp certified Biden\u2019s electors in 2020 over Trump\u2019s objections \u2014 and the results Tuesday will tests both men\u2019s internal party influence as their final terms play out.<\/p>

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