Derek Dooley is a political newcomer. A lawyer and former football coach, the Republican from the mountain town of Clayton is seeking his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Here are his stances and record on key issues.

Affordability

Dooley says excessive government regulations are creating hidden costs that get passed on to businesses and consumers.

Rising costs are making the American dream less affordable for people who don’t have enough money to buy a house, Dooley says.

He wants to find ways to reduce regulations on home builders so they can construct more houses, increase the supply of housing and reduce costs.

If elected, Dooley says he will find ways to increase workforce training so people can become qualified for jobs.

Immigration

Dooley says he blames immigrants who are in the country illegally for crimes, and they need to be deported to ensure communities are safe.

Immigrants don’t commit crimes at a higher rate than nonimmigrants, according to a 2024 analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice.

Dooley says he wants the border with Mexico to be closed, and he praised the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which included funding for immigration and border enforcement, immigration detention centers, deportation operations and border wall construction.

Dooley links U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff to his fellow Democrat, Joe Biden, saying the former president’s border enforcement policies resulted in high levels of illegal immigration.

Iran

Dooley applauds Trump for his invasion of Iran, calling it “the most unstable country in the most unstable region in the world.”

Dooley said on the Martha Zoller Show on WDUN-AM he’s not going to second-guess Trump’s decision to start the war along with Israel. The Trump administration constantly gains intelligence information that isn’t available to the public, he said on the show.

But Dooley says he doesn’t think Trump is interested in a prolonged war, saying that would be “a mistake of the past.” The United States was previously embroiled in long-term wars in both Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Dooley says the war in Iran needs to play out, and he didn’t call for it to end.

Healthcare

Both patients and their doctors are suffering from the United States’ healthcare crisis, Dooley says.

Patients are suffering because of “ridiculous” health insurance costs, Dooley told The Red & Black newspaper. And he says doctors are suffering because they’re stuck in a system controlled by big companies.

Dooley says there are many solutions to numerous problems with the healthcare system, including finding ways to serve people in rural areas.

Dooley supports incentivizing doctors to work in rural areas by paying for their medical school if they agree to relocate to underserved regions. Georgia currently has a $5,000 rural physician tax credit for up to five years for professionals who work in low-population counties.

On abortion, he said the Supreme Court was correct to leave the decision up to states, but he would have written Georgia’s six-week abortion ban differently if he were in charge.

Trump’s economic policies

Dooley has endorsed Trump’s tax cuts passed last year and his tariff strategy.

He says the tax cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year had a positive impact on Georgia’s economy. The bill reduced income taxes on overtime pay and tips, increased the child tax credit and raised the standard deduction.

Trump imposed hefty tariffs on a variety of countries last year, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that federal law doesn’t authorize him to levy tariffs.