New: 'Derek Dooley's Voting History Could Complicate Possible GOP Senate Run' [Washington Examiner]
July 23, 2025
“Dooley has consistently opted not to support Trump at the ballot box or through financial contributions.”
Former mediocre Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley could struggle to get Trump’s support for his pending Senate campaign, according to new reporting from the Washington Examiner revealing that Dooley did not vote in multiple elections with Trump on the ballot, never donated to Trump, did not register as a Republican for much of his life, and hired anti-Trump staffers as he prepares to launch his campaign.
This comes as Republicans in Georgia reportedly are struggling to find a “consensus candidate” who can receive support from both Trump and Governor Brian Kemp.
Read more:
Washington Examiner: Derek Dooley’s voting history could complicate possible GOP Senate run
Key Points:
- Former University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley didn’t vote in multiple presidential elections, never donated to President Donald Trump, and declined to register as a Republican in several states, a record now drawing scrutiny as he eyes a Senate run in swing state Georgia.
- […] Dooley has consistently opted not to support Trump at the ballot box or through financial contributions.
- Voter records show he didn’t cast a ballot in any Texas election in 2016 while living and working there, and similarly sat out New York elections in 2020, […]
- Dooley declined to register as a Republican, even as his wife did so in multiple states, according to public records.
- In 2005, he registered with no party affiliation in Florida while his wife registered as a Republican. The same pattern occurred in 2020 when they registered in New York. Georgia, where Dooley now resides, does not require voters to declare a party affiliation.
- As of July 2025, federal campaign finance records show Dooley has never donated to Trump or any affiliated group.
- Still, Dooley’s lack of political record is already prompting doubts about whether a newcomer with no clear stance on key conservative issues can rally a Republican base that values loyalty to Trump.
- While Dooley has yet to formally launch his Senate bid, he’s begun laying the groundwork, hiring Cody Hall and Chelsey Ruppersburg, two longtime advisers to Gov. Brian Kemp.
- Hall, a top Kemp strategist, has drawn sharp criticism from Trump allies for his past attacks on the president while serving on Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign and for publicly supporting Trump’s rivals during the 2016 primary.
- One Georgia GOP consultant called Dooley’s effort to present himself as a Trump-aligned candidate disingenuous, describing it as the campaign’s “original sin.”
- “They are trying to play a Trump Republican when the candidate is hardly Republican, and the team hates Donald Trump,” the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
- Several Republican consultants told the Washington Examiner that staffing decisions are often the first loyalty test in Trumpworld, and that hiring outspoken Trump critics is a major red flag.
