Derek Dooley says his coaching career kept him out of the voting booth

Published On: August 16, 2025

According to state voting records, former football coach Derek Dooley, who is currently running for the Republican U.S. Senate, did not cast a ballot in the presidential elections in 2020 in New York, where he lived at the time, or in 2016 in Texas. Additionally, two years after registering to vote in Georgia, he did not cast a ballot in the state’s presidential primary last year.

Dooley is hardly the first prominent Republican to fail to cast a ballot. Despite having strong links to President Donald Trump, Herschel Walker, the GOP’s 2022 Senate contender, did not run for president in 2016.

Dooley is still making his way into the Senate campaign, however, unlike Walker, a football legend who joined with Trump’s support. Additionally, his opponents are trying to make his previous lack of involvement a problem.

Dooley told WDUN’s Martha Zolleron on Thursday that he was engrossed in coaching and that the gaps were a result of decades of political agnosticism.

I probably didn’t cast a ballot for a president for twenty years. I was totally focused on my work as a coach. Dooley, a former head football coach at Tennessee who has experience in the NFL and other collegiate schools, stated, “I was focusing all of my energy on the players and their families and trying to make them better.”

Associated Press is credited.

According to Dooley, the coronavirus pandemic altered his perspective. He claimed that his experience living in New York during the 2020 lockdowns inspired him to become active.

During COVID, I witnessed events that I never imagined would occur in our nation, such as the widespread lawlessness and the excessive government involvement. I had to get my ass in the game because that truly startled me.

After registering to vote in Georgia in June 2022, Dooley voted in the primary and runoffs that year and gave $5,000 to his longtime friend, Governor Brian Kemp.

He claimed he voted for Trump in the general election and immediately started considering a challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection next year, despite missing the state’s March 2024 presidential primary.

One of Dooley’s Republican opponents for the Senate nomination, U.S. Representative Mike Collins, has criticized him for being silent during Trump’s administration.

Coach, consultants need to revise the talking points! His campaign made a satirical social media blast on Thursday.

For his part, Ossoff is avoiding the situation.

“I think I’m going to let my Republican challengers work this out among themselves for a while,” he remarked on Thursday, despite the temptation.

Friday news quiz

Miguel Martinez/AJC is credited.

Good morning! Now is the time to discover who receives this newsletter each day. Four questions from this week’s Politically Georgia editions are included below. The newsletter’s bottom has the answers. Be honorable because it’s an honor system.

A school district was recently commended by the Georgia Department of Education for reducing the percentage of children who miss school frequently from 42% to 17.8%. What district was it?

A) Chattooga County School District.
B) Catoosa County Public Schools.
C) Chattahoochee County School District.
D) Colquitt County School District.

There may still be space for a more progressive contender in Georgia’s rapidly filling Democratic primary for governor. Which state politician has been being considered as a possible contender by the left?

A) State Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek.
B) State Rep. Imani Barnes, D-Tucker.
C) State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth.
D) State Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth.

A former Kentucky county clerk has petitioned the US Supreme Court to reverse one of its historic rulings. Which case is she contesting?

A) Dobbs v. Jackson Women s Health Organization, which returned abortion regulation to the states.
B) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which lifted restrictions on the political spending of corporations.
C) Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
D) New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which changed how gun laws are interpreted.

This week, state senator Jason Esteves, a Democrat running for governor, announced a significant policy proposal. What was it?

A) Legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
B) A $1 billion fund for low-interest loans to small businesses.
C) Endorsing a constitutional amendment to legalize sports gambling.
D) Raising taxes on wealthy Georgians to boost teacher salaries.

EMS

Thanks to TNS

About 55 times a month in 1977, the 20,000 or so residents of Emanuel County needed an ambulance. Just about 23,000 people live in that same county today, and they require an ambulance up to 428 times a month.

In Georgia’s rural towns, where hospitals routinely rank transportation as their top concern, this spike in call volume demonstrates how health care has evolved over the previous 50 years.

According to Emanuel County EMS Director Courtney Terwilliger, it has also played a role in the concerning rise in response times, which went from 12.5 minutes in 2022 to 19.4 minutes in 2023.

In 1966, EMS was designed. No redesign has been made. At the House Study Committee on Improving Access to Internal Medicine in Underserved Areas’ inaugural meeting this week, Terwilliger informed members that hospitals and healthcare had been revamped.

This year, the panel is one of several special committees examining health care, including those examining child placement, smoking, medical marijuana, cancer treatment, and 9111 funding.

Small nuggets

During the legislative off-season, state legislators are researching ways to increase Georgia tourism. One developer claims that all they need to do to find fresh inspiration is to glance north.

The chair of Gainesville’s Capstone Property Group, Jeff Payne, highlighted two tax credits in South Carolina that target defunct textile mills and abandoned structures.

For the development of buildings that have been abandoned for five years, South Carolina provides developers with a 25 percent tax credit. They also provide an additional 25% tax credit for renovating structures connected to the once-dominant textile industry in the South.

According to Payne, you receive that credit if you enhance it and make it suitable for a business.

Both credits cannot be used by developers on the same project. They must choose between the two options. However, Payne noted that in South Carolina, developers can occasionally receive tax credits equal to roughly 70% of their expenses.

State Senator Drew Echols appears to be seeking this type of proposal. The Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism is chaired by the Gainesville Republican, who recently concluded his first term in the Legislature.

He argued that we don’t need to enact a massive, eye-catching tourist bill. Throughout this process, we will attempt to grasp a number of tiny nuggets that are out there.

Don t blink

Credit: AJC file image

For the first time ever, Georgia’s labor officials were quick to boast that the state had surpassed 5 million employment in June. While it lasted, it was enjoyable.

According to the most recent data from the Department of Labor, Georgia shed 500 jobs in July, bringing the total number down to 4,995,500.

Not all of the news was negative. Georgia s unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.4% compared to 3.5% in June. And the health care and social assistance sector set an all-time record with 625,500 total jobs.

Georgia s labor force the number of people who are either working or actively seeking employment had a tiny increase of 732 people to 5,377,004. Over the past year, the labor force has shrunk by more than 39,000 people.

That decline has helped lower the state s unemployment rate. TheAJC s Allison Mawn reportsmuch of the decline can be attributed to the aging labor force as more workers retire.

Listen up

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Health insurance worries

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., on Thursdaycalled on Republicansto extend subsidies that help reduce the cost of health insurance purchased on Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Without congressional action, the subsidies expire at the end of this year. Republicans, who control the House, Senate and White House, chose not to include another extension in the big, beautiful bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last month.

I am urging congressional Republicans to reverse course and to prevent this massive increase in health insurance premiums that s coming swiftly for Georgians as a result of the Trump budget bill that was passed earlier this year, Ossoff said during a news conference.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionpreviously reportedthat Georgians purchasing policies on the exchange are expected to see some of the biggest price increases in the nation. Georgia s average increase would be 21%, according to an analysis of preliminary rate proposals by The Wall Street Journal and the health research group KFF.

Trump today

Credit: AP

President Donald Trump willmeet with Russian President Vladimir Putinin Alaska.

Shoutouts

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Today s birthday:

State Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There s a form for that.Click hereto submit the shoutouts. It s not just birthdays. We re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

Before you go

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Answers to this week s news quiz: A, D, C, B.

That ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]@ajc.com.