Tuesday night was a bloodbath for the Republican establishment, and we mean that in the best possible way. Trump-endorsed Rep. Mike Collins crushed Brian Kemp's handpicked candidate Derek Dooley in the Georgia Senate GOP runoff, taking 55.5% of the vote to Dooley's 44.5%. Down in Alabama, Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore locked up the Republican Senate nomination. Two states, two Senate races, two Trump wins.
The establishment might want to update its playbook. This one's not working.
Collins' victory in Georgia is the headline, and not just because of the margin. Governor Brian Kemp put his political muscle behind Dooley, a first-time candidate who was supposed to represent the "electable moderate" lane. Trump endorsed Collins. Voters had a clear choice between the Kemp machine and Trump's America First movement. They chose Trump by double digits.
Collins now advances to the November general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff — and if Tuesday night is any indication, Georgia Republicans are fired up and ready to take that seat back.
Meanwhile in Alabama, Rep. Barry Moore — a member of the House Freedom Caucus representing Alabama's 1st Congressional District — finished the job Trump sent him to do. Moore and former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson had been forced into a runoff after no candidate cracked 50% in last month's crowded primary, where Moore led the field with nearly 40% to Hudson's 25%.
Moore wasn't just Trump-endorsed. He had the full MAGA stamp of approval — Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune both backed him. Moore was one of the first elected officials in the country to endorse Trump back in 2015, and voters rewarded that loyalty.
The Alabama seat opened up because Sen. Tommy Tuberville decided to run for governor instead of seeking re-election. Moore will face the Democratic nominee in November in deep-red Alabama, which is about as suspenseful as a Harlem Globetrotters game.
Now, it wasn't a perfect night for the Trump endorsement record. Over in the Georgia gubernatorial runoff, billionaire Rick Jackson — who poured more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign — defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had the backing of both Governor Kemp and President Trump. Jackson ran on immigration enforcement and tax cuts, emphasizing his personal story of growing up in Georgia's foster care system, and voters bought what he was selling.
Jackson will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee, in November.
But let's not lose the forest for the trees. The two biggest prizes on Tuesday — Senate seats in Georgia and Alabama — both went to Trump's guys. Collins dominated in a state where the establishment threw everything it had behind the other candidate. Moore won in a state that practically bleeds red.
Founded a waste hauling company, served as a state lawmaker, and then went to Congress. That's Barry Moore's resume. No Ivy League credentials. No consultant-class polish. Just a guy who backed Trump before it was cool and got backed in return.
The Republican primary voters have spoken, and the message is the same one they've been sending since 2016: the GOP belongs to Trump. The establishment keeps running candidates, and voters keep sending them home. You'd think they'd learn.