Why Derek Dooley is embracing his football past to run for Senate

Long before Derek Dooley entered the race for U.S. Senate, his political rivals mocked his football coaching career. They took jabs at his losing record as Tennessee’s head coach, resurfaced awkward pregame interviews and circulated off-kilter gridiron photos.

But Dooley’s campaign launch today makes clear that he plans to lean into his nearly three-decade long coaching career in football-mad Georgia as part of a backstory centered on empowering young athletes and their families.

“I’m not part of the political establishment, and I haven’t spent my life climbing the D.C. political ladder,” he said. “For 30 years, I led young people from all walks of life and fought every day to create hope and opportunity for them and their families.”

It’s a play to Dooley’s strengths. His critics are already calling him a failed coach, so his campaign is embracing his long track record to distinguish himself from his GOP rivals — U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins — and from Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

But don’t expect Dooley to center his bid solely on his football roots. Herschel Walker tried that strategy in 2022, outfitting events in red-and-black and courting autograph seekers. His celebrity did little to save his scandal-plagued U.S. Senate bid.

Dooley’s campaign opening hits tried-and-true conservative policy notes. He’s embracing President Donald Trump’s agenda, opposing transgender girls in women’s sports, supporting crackdowns on illegal immigration and backing tax cuts.

It’s standard fare GOP messaging. What’s new here is the messenger. Dooley’s campaign raises plenty of questions, including whether Gov. Brian Kemp’s support will be enough to push him over the top.

One thing we already know is how Democrats will respond. Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey wasted no time labeling him a “failed and fired former Tennessee football coach” who “failed to live up to his family name throughout his career.”

Then he pivoted to Dooley’s support from Trump’s tax and spending package, which slashes funding for Medicaid and other federal health care initiatives.

“We’ll see what’s harder for Dooley — answering for a Trump bill that strips heath care for 750,000 Georgians or remembering which SEC team to root for.”

Things to know

Credit: Safa Wahidi/AJC

Credit: Safa Wahidi/AJC

Good morning! We’re 18 days away from the deadline for municipal candidates to qualify for the November election.

Here are three other things to know for today:

School choice

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

Few phrases are more politically loaded than “school choice” these days — especially after Georgia Republicans pushed through a law to spend taxpayer money on private school tuition.

Now, a former Democratic state lawmaker is joining forces with a veteran Texas political strategist to try and reclaim that phrase for the center-left. Alisha Thomas Searcy and Garry Jones are launching a pair of affiliated organizations today to push their version of school choice, one that focuses on expanding public options — like charter schools — instead of subsidizing private ones.

It’s a return to advocacy for Searcy, the former Cobb County lawmaker who resigned as regional president of Democrats for Education Reform earlier this year over what she said was the group’s embrace of private school vouchers.

Now, Searcy said these new groups — the Center for Strong Public Schools and its affiliated action fund — will focus on policies like charter schools and overhauling school funding formulas.

“I grew up as a product of public school choice, and those educational options literally changed the trajectory of my life,” Searcy said.

They’ll also focus on the politics required to make those policies happen. Searcy said the group will “be making substantial investments in the upcoming 2026 election cycle,” including the primaries for governor and school superintendent.

As for where their money is coming from, Searcy said she and Jones have support from “national foundations as well as local organizations” along with their own fundraising contacts.

“We’re going to be leveraging those relationships accordingly,” she said.

Esteves makes intros

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves took his campaign for governor to coastal Georgia for the first time over the weekend, with a half-dozen appearances in Savannah and Hinesville.

He used the events to outline a pledge that his administration would value entrepreneurs as much as it does large-scale employers, the AJC’s Adam Van Brimmer reports. He singled out Hyundai, the South Korean automaker that opened an electric vehicle factory near Savannah last year, which is receiving about $2.6 billion in state incentives.

Esteves said offering low-interest loans and other assistance to start-up job creators would result in “30,000 jobs,” many more than Hyundai is expected to produce. The automaker and its suppliers are forecasted to add about 17,000 jobs over the next six years.

In contrast, he spoke sparingly of what he labels the “chaos” in Washington and told supporters a bid for governor centered on opposing President Donald Trump is a “losing campaign.”

“People want to know what you plan to do for them,” Esteves said.

Frost fallout

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The son of First Liberty Building & Loan’s founder is coming under more scrutiny.

Brant Frost V wasn’t named in the federal lawsuit that accused his father, Brant Frost IV, of orchestrating a $140 million Ponzi scheme.

But he was accused last week in a Georgia ethics commission complaint of using a political action committee he ran to illegally influence elections.

And the secretary of state’s office issued a subpoena seeking more details about a financial firm he sought to create as his family’s business collapsed.

Frost V resigned last week from the Georgia GOP state committee and stepped down from his longtime role as head of the Coweta County GOP.

While his father publicly apologized, Frost V has declined to comment. Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said the resignations help the party focus on upcoming elections.

“We in no way consider his resignations as an indication of guilt in the pending legal issues of First Liberty Building and Loan,” McKoon said. “We continue to stand with those who have suffered financial losses and hope for the speedy and full return of their investments.”

Listen up

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast Republican Kelvin King joins the show to talk about why he’s running for secretary of state. Then the AJC’s Atlanta City Hall reporter Riley Bunch answers listener questions with Greg Bluestein.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Gone ’til September

Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Members of the U.S. Senate worked on Saturday, but went home without giving President Donald Trump everything he demanded.

Republicans confirmed several of Trump’s nominees over the weekend. But a deal to push through a much larger list fell through in part because Trump discovered that Democrats were negotiating with Republicans to get something in return, such as reversing some Department of Government Efficiency initiative-inspired cuts to federal spending.

Trump responded with a caustic social media post that, among other things, suggested U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, “go to hell.”

The president also said he would rather Republicans go home than work out a deal with Democrats.

So they did. The House and Senate are in recess through Labor Day.

Trump today

President Donald Trump will have lunch with Vice President JD Vance.

Appropriations update

In its final working week before the summer recess, the U.S. Senate managed to pass three of the 12 appropriations bills for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The bill outlining spending on military construction and Veterans Affairs was passed by a bipartisan 87-9 vote with both of Georgia’s senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, in favor. Ossoff was a major champion of this legislation, helping pack it with $556 million for nearly a dozen projects at military installations in Georgia.

“From my leadership position on the Military Construction Subcommittee, I ensured this bill delivers the most military construction funding for Georgia in 15 years,” he said in a news release.

Bills funding the legislative branch and the Department of Agriculture also passed overwhelmingly. Senators say the next step is negotiating with the House to finish as many appropriations bills before funding runs out on Sept. 30.

If spending is not ironed out by this process, lawmakers will need to approve temporary funding to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

Shoutouts

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Belated birthday:

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

Before you go

Credit: Rod Lamkey Jr./AP

Credit: Rod Lamkey Jr./AP

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is the first Republican member of Congress to publicly call Israel’s military actions in Gaza a “genocide.” Greg Bluestein breaks it down in this video.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.