Inside the social media clash shaking up Georgia's GOP Senate runoff
Aide fired over offensive campaign post
Mike Collins fired his chief strategist Brandon Phillips after a controversial post upended the Republican Senate runoff. Analysts say the fallout halted campaign momentum as candidates target undecided voters.
ATLANTA - An official campaign social media account for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins faced widespread condemnation Friday following a derogatory social media post targeting the wife of a rival adviser during a contentious Georgia runoff.
Georgia primary race details
What we know:
Collins, who currently serves as a representative in the U.S. House for Georgia’s 10th congressional district, finished Tuesday's primary election with 40% of the vote. He is competing in a tight runoff race to become the Republican pick to challenge Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in the November midterm election.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins speaks to supporters at a primary night event on May 19, 2026 in Jackson, Georgia. (Photo by Jason Allen/Getty Images)
Lawyer Derek Dooley, the son of legendary football coach Vince Dooley, finished second in Tuesday's vote with just over 30% after surging late in the polls. Because neither candidate secured the mandatory 50% plus one vote required to win outright under Georgia law, both men are advancing to a head-to-head runoff election in June.
Former football coach and Republican candidate for US Senate Derek Dooley speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump at an event hosted by Vice President JD Vance on August 21, 2025 in Peachtree City, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Social media account clash
What they're saying:
The controversy began at 1:30 p.m. Friday when the Mike Collins War Room account (@TeamOverhaulGA) on X replied to a post by National Review political contributor Luke Thompson (@ltthompso). Thompson had shared a poll from @IAPolls2022 that showed Collins leading Dooley 46% to 41%, adding the comment: "48 hours later and the Collins lead has cut in half. Dooley beats Ossoff. Collins can’t. Not hard to understand."
The Collins campaign account replied directly to Thompson, stating: "Matt Laurer’s [sic] sloppy second chiming in to take an L." The comment has since been deleted.
A screen capture of comments made by an X account associated with Rep. Mike Collins' bid to be the GOP Senate nominee on May 22, 2026.
Background of the targets
The backstory:
Years earlier, Thompson’s wife was among the high-profile women who came forward with sexual assault and rape allegations against former NBC "Today" show host Matt Lauer, which led to Lauer's firing. Following intense public pressure and media scrutiny, she attempted suicide.
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Candidate responses on X
The other side:
Derek Dooley quickly condemned the post on X, calling out the behavior as disqualifying for the Republican nomination.
"This kind of disgusting behavior does not represent Georgia values—or frankly any values—and is exactly why Mike Collins cannot be our nominee this November. A vote for Collins is a vote for Ossoff," Dooley wrote.
Collins also turned to X on Friday to issue an apology and announce that the staffer responsible had been handled.
"Earlier today, a campaign advisor sent out a despicable and unauthorized Twitter comment using a Team Collins campaign account. The statement was made without my knowledge or approval and in no way represents or reflects my values or the values of this campaign. I want to apologize for this offensive tweet. I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again," Collins wrote.
Like Thompson also posted about the slight writing on X:
"Collins surrounds himself with unprofessional and incompetent cretins. This is not a team capable of holding its own against the Ossoff war chest. Just a deeply stupid group of low grade operators."
Collins' momentum halted?
Big picture view:
Political strategists Brian Robinson and Theron Johnson weighed in on the controversy during FOX 5's Red Clay Rundown, which airs each weekday night at 8 p.m.
Robinson, a long-time Republican political operative in Georgia, says this might impact an endorsement from President Donald Trump and also slams the brakes on the momentum for Collins' campaign. "This is, given that we are in a runoff, with three weeks left, this is an earthquake in this race," Robinson told FOX 5's Tom Haynes.
Johnson condemned the comment outright, but also called it a distraction for the Collins campaign. He does believe that the campaign can recover from it. "Collins is a very hard-nosed, very aggressive candidate, but when you make a mistake like this, it's definitely a distraction, and it was a hard decision to make to actually fire someone who has been with him for a very long time."
Details left unresolved
What we don't know:
It remains unclear exactly which campaign adviser had access to the @TeamOverhaulGA account and wrote the message. The Collins campaign has not specified the names or the exact number of individuals impacted by the announced staffing changes or if any of his staff were fired over the incident.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the verified X accounts of Representative Mike Collins, candidate Derek Dooley, Luke Thompson, and the @TeamOverhaulGA campaign account, which published the statements, primary results, and responses directly.