Brian Kemp hoped to avoid a messy Senate primary. It might happen anyway.

Published On: July 29, 2025

Governor Brian Kemp fervently hoped to steer out of another Georgia U.S. Senate contest that would also serve as a proxy battle with President Donald Trump. However, that worry is quickly turning into reality with the beginning of U.S. Representative Mike Collins’ campaign this morning.

Collins and U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, who both see themselves as unrepentant MAGA warriors, are on one side.

Derek Dooley, a Kemp loyalist and political rookie, is on the other end of the spectrum. He is anticipated to base his upcoming campaign on the governor’s pro-Trump playbook, but he is aiming for a more mainstream GOP audience.

When Kemp begged funders to hold their fire and privately convened with Trump in the hopes of rallying behind a single nominee, he wasn’t anticipating a contentious primary.

He was committed to avoiding the mayhem of 2020, when Republicans lost control of the Senate as a result of GOP infighting over Trump’s support, which drove the party to its extremes.

And his plan appeared to be effective for a time. Following pressure from behind the scenes, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is arguably Georgia’s most divisive GOP figure, was quickly dissuaded from running. And after some arm-twisting by Kemp, Insurance Commissioner John King left the race last week.

However, Dooley has failed to clear the field and split activists with his pledge of a new strategy for the campaign. Some influential members of the party are also questioning Kemp’s decision to choose a more well-known and proven candidate.

Collins in particular poses a special difficulty. He is a firebrand with MAGA affiliations who shares many traits with Greene. However, he could resist attempts to portray him as a mullet-wearing MTG.

His r sum includes billssigned by both TrumpandDemocratic President Joe Biden. With his viral memes and red-meat language, he is a cultural brawler, but he also makes a realistic appeal to voters by portraying himself as a trucking businessman who has survived hardship.

Additionally, he has already presented the contest as a fight for Trump’s agenda, thereby challenging Kemp’s supporters to oppose him.

The second-term congressman said he looks forward to eventually receiving the governor’s endorsement when he is the nominee in response to Kemp privately telling Collins last week that he would not back him against Dooley.

Things to know

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Good morning! Three things to be aware of today are as follows:

Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier was hit by a car last week while riding a bicycle with his 4-year-old daughter. Both are OK. Dozier said he hopes the incident spurs more radical transformation in making our city a more bikeable city, the

AJC s Riley Bunch reports

.
The U.S. House begins its summer break this week, but many members will likely face fury from their conservative constituents about the Trump administration refusing to release files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the

AJC s Tia Mitchell reports

.
Metro Atlanta jails are handling a growing number of foreign-born inmates who are in the custody of federal immigration officials, the

AJC s Lautaro Grinspan reports

.

Taking credit

Mariam Zuhaib/AP is credited.

Democrats were quick to criticize the Trump administration for freezing nearly $7 billion in education funding. The scramble to claim credit for the reversal has begun since the money was released.

First out of the gate was U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, who sent a news release on Thursday announcing that the Trump administration has restored funding for Georgia After-School Programs due to pressure from Ossoff.

U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, followed suit with a news release of her own.Following pressure from McBath and colleagues, the Trump administration said Friday that it will release the remaining withheld education funding, restoring the remaining spending.

Georgia schools will get around $224 million in total as a result of the restoration. The financing was previously authorized by Congress in a measure enacted earlier this year by President Donald Trump. Due to fears that the spending backed a radical, left-wing ideology, the Trump administration postponed the funds’ release in order to analyze them.

Ad watch

Jason Allen/AJC is credited.

A nonprofit organization called Duty and Honor, which is connected to the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, just started a $1.5 million advertising campaign in Georgia to support U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff for opposing President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill.

They could ve voted to lower prices, but instead, Washington politicians voted to cut health care and give tax cuts to billionaires. NotThe 30-second commercial, which airs on broadcast, cable, and streaming channels, is narrated by Jon Ossoff.

It looks like the ad is a reaction to criticism from One Nation, a public policy group that supports Senate Republican Leader John Thune and spent $5 million attacking Ossoff for his vote.

Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Democrats and Republicans are battling over how to present the tax and spending measure, as evidenced by the conflicting advertisements.

Caught on camera

Since students frequently use technology to finish projects rather than doing the work themselves, school administrators nationwide have been fighting artificial intelligence. However, some authorities are increasingly using AI themselves to improve campus security.

AI is now being used by a few public schools in Atlanta to analyze their security camera footage. If the system finds a gun or other security threats, it will automatically sound an alert. It s not just weapons, either. Ronald Applin, the police chief for Atlanta Public Schools, stated in an interview with today’s sPolitically Georgia podcast that some administrators have experimented with vaping detection technology.

“We are making every effort to prevent any kind of criminal activity on our school grounds,” Applin stated.

Schools are using the additional funds that lawmakers provided them for school security grants for things like AI-enhanced security. In reaction to last year’s school shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, the state Legislature authorized the funding earlier this year.

In one week, the majority of Georgia students will be going back to school.

Making the TRIP

Jason Getz/AJC is credited.

An accident involving a semitruck is the best way to slow down traffic. However, the actual delays are frequently brought on by the length of time required to clean it up.

Georgia began rewarding towing companies with bonuses in 2008 if they were able to clear a big commercial vehicle accident in less than 90 minutes. Before the initiative began, it occasionally took over three hours for a tow vehicle to reach the location. The previous year? It was the lowest average since 2020, at barely 34 minutes.

Officials from the Georgia Department of Transportation have now added the following to the Towing and Recovery Incentive Program, or TRIP:

I-75 north all the way to the Tennessee state line.
I-85 north all the way to the South Carolina state line.
I-85 south all the way to the Alabama state line.

It s not just a metro Atlanta thing that s going on. Andrew Health, deputy commissioner of the Department of Transportation, stated, “We want to make sure that we address these wrecks across the state quickly and effectively.”

Listen up

Credit: AJC file image

AJC education writer Martha Dalton joins the Politically Georgia podcast today to discuss what parents should know about school safety this year with Atlanta Public Schools Police Chief Ronald Applin.

The show is available for free listening and subscription on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcasting service.

Do you have a remark or question for the show? You might be included on a future episode if you contact us by phone at 770-810-5297 or by email at [email protected].

MLK files

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Thousands of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice last week related to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. didn t include any new information or discoveries, theAJC s Ernie Suggs and Charles Minshew report. But they did show the lengths the FBI went through to track and scrutinize the iconic civil rights leader.

The trove of more than 240,000 pages was organized into more than 6,000 PDFs and posted on theNational Archives websitelast week. One historian said the information was neither shocking nor revelatory, even as it included more than 150,000 pages of memos from nearly 50 FBI field offices across the country.

The documents even include clippings from The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal.

More King documents, including transcripts of FBI wiretaps, are scheduled to be unsealed in 2027. But the DOJ is pushing to release them sooner.

Today in Washington

Credit: Alastair Grant/AP

Happenings:

President Donald Trump is in Scotland, where he will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The House is out until Sept. 2.
The Senate has evening votes scheduled on Trump nominations.

Correction

We told you on Friday that the U.S. House and Senate had both started their summer recesses. While the House is on break, senators have a few more working days before they leave.

Shoutouts

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Belated birthday:

State Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah (was Sunday)

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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Did you know it s illegal to tie a giraffe to a light pole in Georgia? Check out that and other strange laws inthis AJC video.

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.