The MAGA takeover of the Georgia GOP is nearly complete.
The traditional leadership of the Republican Party in Georgia has been overthrown, making way for candidates aligned with President Donald Trump. This shift has been building since 2020 and is now evident across the ballot.
Trump supporters achieved significant victories on Tuesday. Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones secured a place in the gubernatorial runoff alongside billionaire Rick Jackson, who stated his intent to govern similarly to Trump but with a “southern tone.” In the GOP Senate primary, Rep. Mike Collins, a fervent MAGA supporter, moved forward to a runoff. Additionally, House candidates Jim Kingston, Houston Gaines, and Clay Fuller won decisively, buoyed by Trump’s endorsement.
In contrast, prominent Trump critics, especially those who rejected claims of the 2020 election being “stolen,” were defeated in their primaries. This includes Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr, and Gabriel Sterling, a former aide to Raffensperger.
The election outcomes signal a growing preference among Georgia Republican voters for Trump-centric politics, potentially influencing contests in 2026 and beyond.
Georgia Republican Party chair Josh McKoon, a Trump supporter, noted, “It’s key to success in a Republican primary in Georgia today to either have the president’s endorsement or be able to make the case to voters that you’re certainly a Trump-aligned candidate.”
Chip Lake, a Republican strategist involved in Jones’ campaign, suggested that figures like Raffensperger may now be considered “relics of the past.” He clarified, “That doesn’t mean they’re bad human beings, it just means that their style of politics is not consistent today with where the base of the party is.”
Aligning closely with Trump in primaries has sometimes been detrimental in general elections, an issue Democrats hope to exploit in 2026, reminiscent of the GOP’s losses in 2022.
In Georgia, as in other states, the GOP has increasingly embraced a populist approach under Trump’s influence. While the old guard, including outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, Raffensperger, and Carr, managed to fend off Trump-backed challengers in the 2022 midterms, this cycle has seen a more pronounced shift as the GOP seeks greater resources and focus in this crucial swing state.
For some GOP strategists, aligning with Trump is not just ideological but a practical move, given Trump’s political operation holds about $300 million in campaign funds.
“It is good for the state of Georgia to choose these MAGA-aligned candidates in that the president has a huge war chest, and that war chest can be utilized for candidates that he likes,” commented a Republican strategist from Georgia, who spoke anonymously about the state’s political landscape.
In the Senate and governor’s primaries, successful GOP candidates all championed Trump’s ideology. The fiercely contested and costly primary for governor turned into a race to demonstrate who best embodied the MAGA philosophy—either Jones, who had Trump’s explicit backing, or Jackson, who persuaded voters of his alignment with Trump.
Though Trump has not yet intervened in the Senate primary, candidates still sought to align with his movement. Collins, known for his hardline stance on immigration and loyalty to Trump in Congress, declared himself “unapologetically Pro-God, Pro-Trump, Pro-2nd Amendment, Pro-Strong Military” after advancing to the runoff.
Derek Dooley, a former football coach and Kemp’s chosen candidate, will face Collins in the June runoff. Dooley embraced his outsider status akin to Trump and promoted a “Georgia First” message.
“We haven’t made any attempts to alienate Trump whatsoever. Derek supports the agenda. He’s made it clear through the debate and multiple interviews that he supports the president,” a senior Dooley adviser stated, speaking anonymously before Election Day.
This strategy is risky for a party that faced setbacks in the 2022 midterms for nominating hardline MAGA candidates nationwide, including Herschel Walker for the Georgia Senate, who subsequently lost key races. The current midterm cycle appears to be leaning more favorably toward Democrats, given Trump’s low approval ratings, economic concerns, and the unpopular conflict in Iran.
Democrats are eager to link Republicans to Trump. Devon Cruz, a spokesperson for the Georgia Democratic Party, stated that the Senate runoff would make Collins and Dooley “terminally inseparable” from Trump.
Tuesday’s outcomes highlighted Trump’s growing influence in determining which Republicans can win statewide primaries in key contests. This trend extends beyond Georgia.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a long-standing adversary of Trump, lost his seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate in a contentious campaign. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy was replaced by Trump’s preferred candidate. Trump also defeated most Indiana Republicans who opposed him on redistricting and supported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate after considering Sen. John Cornyn an inadequate ally.
“The party has completely changed in 50 states,” said Lake, the Republican strategist. “It looks nothing like it did a decade ago, and it looks absolutely nothing like it did 15 years ago.”
“We’re a party that’s a lot different, that’s got a sharper focus, that’s willing to fight more,” he added.
Raffensperger, once a symbol of resistance against Trump, admitted that conspiracy theories about the 2020 election—despite a lack of evidence supporting fraud claims—diminished his support among Republican voters.
However, he refrained from solely blaming Trump for his failure to progress in the runoff, saying, “I just think terms are up, and so it’s a changing of the guard and turning over a new leaf,” during a post-election interview. “We’ll have new people with new plans, new hopes, new visions, and we’re going to see where it goes.”
