Derek Dooley announces 2026 Georgia Senate bid against Ossoff

Derek Dooley announces Senate run

Derek Dooley, the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, has announced that he's entering the race to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026.

ATLANTA - Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley has announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2026 against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

The son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley filed paperwork over the weekend to enter the race in the hopes of being Ossoff's Republican challenger.

What we know:

The 57-year-old Dooley is backed by Gov. Brian Kemp and had been teasing a bid since June. He joins a GOP field that includes U.S. Reps.  Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, as well as activist Reagan Box. 

Dooley walked on at the University of Virginia and earned a scholarship as a wide receiver. He earned a law degree from the University of Georgia and briefly practiced law in Atlanta before working his way up the college coaching ladder, becoming head coach for three years at Louisiana Tech before Tennessee.

Kemp turned to Dooley after deciding not to run for the seat himself. Georgia Republicans are looking to topple Ossoff, considered the Senate's most vulnerable Democratic incumbent seeking reelection next year.  

"Professional politicians like Jon Ossoff are the problem," Dooley said in a two-minute launch video posted on Monday morning. "Lawlessness, open season on the border, inflation everywhere, woke stuff, that's what they represent. We need new leadership in Georgia. That's why I'm running for Senate." 

While Governor Kemp has not publicly endorsed a candidate, political insiders say he has been working behind the scene in support of Dooley for months and top Kemp advisors are working on his campaign..

President Trump has reportedly said he will not support Dooley at least in the primary because he doesn't think he is the best candidate.

Republican political strategist Brian Robinson says Georgia Republicans must work together to take on the Democratic incumbent.

Robinson says, "The party in power in the white House always faces some headwinds in a midterm election. There are things there certainly playing out in Jon Ossoff's favor right now. Let's be aware of that. We have got to be on our game. Georgia Republicans have to play a perfect game to win this, and that includes not going nuts in a primary."

Tharon Johnson, a democratic strategist says, "Democrats are united. We only have one candidate, that's U.S. Senator John Ossoff. No matter who emerges from the Republican side, that person will be battered and bruised. And it would be a very, very chaotic and messy primary. Jon Ossoff would benefit from that, because he will basically be able to use some of the things that came up during that primary fight, but more importantly, gives him more time to prepare to whoever the nominee is going to be."                      

Dig deeper:

Dooley has never held elective office before. He says he'll run as a political outsider, a lane David Perdue traveled in Georgia to win election to the Senate in 2014. Dooley said he would bring "good, old-fashioned Georgia common sense," and "work with President Trump, fight for you and always put Georgia first."  

In July, Kemp told Collins and other Republicans that he would support Dooley, leading Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King to drop out of the race.

As a teenager, Kemp was a frequent guest at the Dooley home, and he roomed with Derek's older brother, Daniel Dooley, at the University of Georgia. Kemp has the most effective Republican political organization in Georgia, and Dooley has hired Kemp aides to run his race, including political strategist Cody Hall and fundraiser Chelsey Ruppersburg.  

It's the latest high-impact move to back a political novice for Kemp, who tapped Kelly Loeffler as a U.S. senator before she lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a 2021 runoff. Her campaign was plagued by conflict between Kemp and Trump, who preferred another candidate. Losses by Perdue and Loeffler to Ossoff and Warnock, respectively, handed control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats.  

The other side:

But a number of Republicans endorsed Collins after he entered the field last week, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Also backing the congressman are state senators including state Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte. Even one of Kemp's official floor leaders in the state House, Rep. Matthew Gambill, parted ways with the governor to endorse Collins. 

Opponents have already lampooned Dooley for failing to publicly support Trump before now. Someone launched an anonymous University of Tennessee-themed website called "Dooley's Volunteers" that criticizes Dooley for a lack of conservative credentials, interspersed with quotes from sports reporters panning Dooley's coaching tenure.