2026-05-18T11:00:51.092Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：阿莱特·萨恩斯
29分钟前发布
发布时间：2026年5月18日，美国东部时间早上7:00
埃里克·S·莱瑟/EPA/ shutterstock
佐治亚州米尔顿——
布莱恩·坎普或许不会竞选联邦参议员——但这位佐治亚州州长的竞选活动声势，仿佛他的名字就印在选票上。
“我想要夺回我们的联邦参议员席位，”坎普在周二初选前几天于当地一家自行车咖啡馆对选民说道，“过去几届选举，我们在佐治亚州的联邦参议员竞选表现都不尽如人意，现在我们又多了一次机会夺回其中一个席位，而且我们必须选出合适的人选来完成这件事。”
共和党全国层面长期以来都认为即将卸任的坎普是击败民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫的最强候选人，但这位州长在去年5月，经过共和党领袖数月私下游说后，还是放弃了参选机会。如今，共和党在佐治亚州正面临分裂的初选格局，一些人担忧这会削弱他们在11月翻转该参议员席位的胜算，同时提升民主党赢得参议院多数席位的可能性。
坎普认为，合适的人选是德里克·杜利——田纳西大学前橄榄球主教练。他的对手是两名与“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）阵营结盟的国会议员：迈克·科林斯议员和巴迪·卡特议员。如果没有候选人获得超过50%的选票，得票前两名的候选人将进入6月16日的决选。
对坎普而言，周二的初选将是检验他在佐治亚州共和党选民中政治影响力的重大考验。
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/politics/brian-kemp-georgia-senate-gop-primary
布莱恩·坎普谈共和党初选
1:31 • 来源：CNN
“我们击败乔恩·奥索夫的最佳机会，就是选出真正的政治圈外人，能够壮大共和党阵营，在11月吸引民众站到我们这边，”坎普在道格拉斯维尔一家体育用品店与杜利一同接受联合采访时表示。
当被问及由于他深度介入此次竞选，是否感觉自己的名字仿佛也印在了选票上时，坎普回答：“有点这种感觉。”
投入时间与资金
坎普和妻子马蒂·坎普数月来一直在全州范围内陪同杜利开展竞选活动，包括在提前投票的最后几天前往人口密集的亚特兰大都会区。
根据广告追踪公司AdImpact的数据，坎普的政治行动委员会“勤劳美国人”预留了100万美元广告预算，在初选最后阶段为杜利造势，其中一则广告由坎普本人亲自出镜，呼吁选民“将德里克·杜利送往美国参议院”。
坎普在该州共和党选民中的支持率在两届州长任期内始终保持稳定。2022年，他轻松击败了获得前总统唐纳德·特朗普支持的初选对手——后者曾因坎普拒绝推翻乔·拜登在佐治亚州的2020年大选胜选结果而猛烈抨击他。根据《亚特兰大宪法报》上月开展的民调，坎普在可能参与共和党初选的选民中支持率高达85%。
埃里克·S·莱瑟/EPA/ shutterstock
目前尚不清楚坎普在共和党选民中的好感度能否转化为对其心仪候选人的支持。
《亚特兰大宪法报》近期的一项民调显示，科林斯以22%的支持率位居初选阵营首位，卡特和杜利分别以13%和11%的支持率争夺第二名。与此同时，超过一半的可能参与共和党初选的选民——54%——尚未做出决定，这意味着在这场关键的初选阶段仍有大量选民摇摆不定。
几名共和党选民告诉CNN，与近期占据电视广告黄金时段的昂贵州长共和党初选对决相比，参议院竞选几乎没受到关注。根据AdImpact数据的分析，为替换坎普的州长职位共和党初选已投入近1.24亿美元用于电视和数字广告，而参议院共和党初选的投入仅略超2100万美元。
该州共和党人认为，周二的参议院初选不太可能有候选人获得50%以上的选票，这将使共和党党内斗争延长一个月，并消耗可用于秋季竞选的资源。
共和党方面悬而未决的参议院初选，正值民主党对11月赢得参议院多数席位的信心增强。奥索夫与民主党参议员拉斐尔·沃诺克均在2021年决选中首次当选，奥索夫是本届参议院选举中唯一一名在特朗普2024年获胜的州寻求连任的民主党参议员。
在共和党陷入初选混战之际，奥索夫已提前进入大选模式，积累了今年所有民主党参议院候选人中最雄厚的资金储备。
埃里克·S·莱瑟/EPA/ shutterstock
“显然，我们更希望拥有清晰的初选格局，用过去九个月的时间就奥索夫的执政记录向选民阐明利害，这方面有太多内容可以向选民传达，但我们现在所处的就是这样的局面，”佐治亚州共和党主席乔希·麦库恩说道，“我认为一旦我们确定候选人，所有参选者都有能力就此展开有力的游说。”
坎普是此次共和党初选中涉足最深的政治人物。到目前为止，尽管候选人及其盟友多次呼吁，特朗普仍未在此次竞选中做出背书——这与他在本月即将举行的得克萨斯州共和党参议院决选中持中立立场的做法一致。
“打一场精彩的初选对决并不总是坏事，”坎普告诉CNN，“这能让候选人在大选前得到更好的历练。”
但一些共和党人对坎普自行其是、背书杜利的决定表示不满。科林斯的竞选团队在3月发布的一份备忘录中称，尽管“现任州长进行了干预”，但他仍处于领先地位。
“如果要介入参议院竞选，你或许应该干脆自己参选，”一名跟踪佐治亚州这场竞选的全国共和党战略家说道。
坎普表示，现在对他和他的家人而言，再次参选并非“合适的时机”，他的重点是为“联邦参议员竞选选出合适的候选人”，并确保“我们整个参选阵容在11月都能获胜”。
“我对此非常有信心，”坎普补充道，“我知道民调机构和预测人士并不这么认为，但只要我们的候选人位居参选名单榜首，我就对我们的胜算非常有信心。”
教练对阵议员
在竞选活动中，坎普经常提及他与杜利家族的密切关系，包括德里克的父亲文斯·杜利——佐治亚大学传奇橄榄球主教练。
没有从政经历、且未在2016年和2020年大选投票的德里克·杜利，将自己塑造为反对“ broken Washington”的政治圈外人。他将竞选纲领的核心放在一项五点“佐治亚优先”协议上，其中包括承诺仅担任两届参议员、任职期间不进行个人股票或数字资产交易。杜利还指出，他的对手拥有长期的国会记录，这可能成为大选期间攻击他们的把柄。
“我认为民众已经准备好迎接不同的选择，找一个像我这样来自以结果为导向的行业的人，也就是教练行业，一个曾与各行各业的人共事过的人，我认为这一点在全州范围内都会比我对阵的两名对手更能引起共鸣，”杜利告诉CNN。
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/politics/brian-kemp-georgia-senate-gop-primary
德里克·杜利谈共和党初选
0:30 • 来源：CNN
德里克·杜利谈共和党初选
0:30
当被问及认为自己更属于特朗普阵营还是坎普阵营的共和党人时，杜利表示：“我不喜欢这些标签。”
“坎普州长和特朗普总统展现出的领导力在很多方面都激励了我，”他说，“我为我所在的政党感到自豪，但我也有自己的领导风格，这正是我竞选时所宣扬的。”
与此同时，拥有货运公司的科林斯和药剂师出身的卡特，更强势地宣扬他们的MAGA资质。两名国会议员都播放了提及总统对他们赞扬的电视广告。卡特自称“MAGA战士”，而科林斯则吹嘘自己为推动“美国优先”议程所做的工作。
两名国会议员在上月的辩论舞台上公开互怼。卡特警告科林斯，后者正因国会办公室滥用纳税人资金的指控面临众议院道德委员会调查，这可能会让共和党在11月输掉参议员席位。
“如果我们推出你作为候选人，我们会输掉选举，”曾就该调查发布攻击广告的卡特说道，“民主党会抓住这一点大做文章，我们会再次失败。”
“这完全是小题大做，只是任何人都可以提交的匿名投诉而已，”科林斯回应道。
选民考量坎普的影响力
对部分共和党选民而言，坎普的背书具有重大影响力。
“我真的、真的、真的很喜欢我的州长，我非常尊重他，一旦他在我心中埋下支持德里克·杜利的想法，我就开始做更多的研究，”来自阿尔法利塔的共和党选民雅科隆·霍尔科姆说道，“我就是觉得杜利是最合适的人选。”
但其他人则不那么信服。阿尔法利塔的共和党人兰迪·皮卡德表示，他已经排除了投票给杜利的可能，因为他对坎普没有像其他共和党州那样在中期选举前进行选区重新划分感到失望。相反，坎普已宣布将于6月召开特别会议，为2028年重新绘制国会选区地图。
“作为佐治亚人，我觉得他让我们失望了，因为他没有批准重新划分选区，”倾向于支持科林斯的皮卡德说道，“这让我和该州很多共和党人都感到恼火。”
“我知道他在为杜利造势，这很好，但我不会投他的票，”他补充道。
随着即将卸任的坎普结束八年州长任期，他的政治未来引发了诸多疑问。
当被问及是否认为自己的共和党执政风格在2028年总统大选中仍有空间时，坎普坚称他专注于当前的参议院竞选。
“我没有关注2028年的选举。作为共和党人，我们能做的最好的事情就是确保我们在2026年赢得选举，保住众议院和参议院的多数席位，”坎普说道，他补充道，支持杜利将“帮助我们在击败乔恩·奥索夫后保住参议院多数席位，而这正是目前任何共和党人都应该考虑的全部事情。”
Brian Kemp passed on a Georgia Senate run. Then he threw himself in the middle of the GOP primary
2026-05-18T11:00:51.092Z / CNN
By Arlette Saenz
29 min ago
PUBLISHED May 18, 2026, 7:00 AM ET
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks in Atlanta on January 14, 2026.
Erik S Lesser/EPA/Shutterstock
Milton, Georgia—
Brian Kemp may not be running for US Senate — but the Georgia governor is campaigning like his name is on the ballot.
“I want to win our Senate seat back,” Kemp told voters at a bike and coffee shop here just days ahead of Tuesday’s primary. “We haven’t done so well in US Senate races here in the state of Georgia in the last several cycles, and we have one more opportunity to try to get one of our Senate seats back. And we got to have the right person to do that.”
National Republicans long viewed term-limited Kemp as their strongest candidate to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, but the governor passed on the opportunity last May after months of private lobbying by GOP leaders. Now, Republicans are grappling with a splintered field in Georgia that some worry could hinder their chances of flipping the seat in November and boost the Democrats’ chances of winning the majority in the Senate.
The right person, Kemp believes, is Derek Dooley — a former head football coach at the University of Tennessee. He’s running against two MAGA-aligned congressmen — Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a June 16 runoff.
For Kemp, Tuesday’s primary will offer a major test of his political influence with Republican voters in Georgia.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/politics/brian-kemp-georgia-senate-gop-primary
Brian Kemp speaks on GOP primaries
1:31 • Source: CNN
“Our best opportunity to beat Jon Ossoff is to have a true political outsider that can grow the party, be bringing people to our side in November,” Kemp said in a joint interview with Dooley at a sporting goods store in Douglassville.
Asked whether he feels like his name is on the ballot given his heavy involvement in the race, Kemp said, “A little bit.”
Investing time and money
Kemp and his wife, Marty Kemp, have campaigned with Dooley across the state for months, including in the population-rich Atlanta metro area in the final days of early voting.
Kemp’s PAC, Hardworking Americans Inc., reserved a million dollars in advertising to bolster Dooley in the final stretch of the primary, according to data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, including a spot featuring the governor personally asking voters to “send Derek Dooley to the US Senate.”
Kemp’s popularity with Republicans in the state has endured throughout his two terms as governor. In 2022, he easily defeated a primary challenge against a candidate backed by President Donald Trump, who lashed out at Kemp for refusing to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state. The governor has an 85% approval rating among likely GOP primary voters, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted last month.
Republican US Senate candidate Derek Dooley speaks in Atlanta on October 13, 2025.
Erik S Lesser/EPA/Shutterstock
It’s unclear whether Kemp’s goodwill among Republicans can translate into support for his preferred candidate.
A recent AJC survey found Collins at the top of the primary pack with 22% as Carter and Dooley battled for second place at 13% and 11%, respectively. At the same time, more than half of likely Republican primary voters — 54% — were undecided, leaving a sizable chunk of voters up for grabs in a critical stretch.
Several Republican voters told CNN they felt the Senate race has flown under the radar compared with the expensive GOP showdown for governor, which has dominated the television airwaves in recent weeks. The GOP primary in the race to replace Kemp has seen nearly $124 million spent on TV and digital advertising, while just over $21 million has been spent by Republicans in the Senate primary, according to an analysis of AdImpact data.
Republicans in the state believe it’s unlikely any candidate will clear the 50% threshold in the Senate primary Tuesday, extending the GOP fight for another month and draining resources that could be used for the fall campaign.
The unsettled Senate primary on the Republican side comes as Democrats have grown more bullish about their chances to win control of the chamber in November. Ossoff, who along with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock was first elected in a 2021 runoff, is the lone Democratic senator running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024.
While Republicans have been locked in their primary fight, Ossoff has plowed ahead in general election mode, amassing the largest financial stockpile of any Democrat running for Senate this year.
Sen. Jon Ossoff participates in a reelection campaign event in College Park, Georgia, on February 7, 2026.
Erik S Lesser/EPA/Shutterstock
“Obviously, you’d rather have a clear field and have spent the last nine months prosecuting Ossoff on his record, which there’s so much to communicate to voters on that, but you know this is the situation we’re in,” Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said. “I think all of our candidates are well equipped to make that case once we have a nominee.”
Kemp is the most prominent political figure to wade into the GOP primary. Trump so far has refrained from endorsing in the race despite appeals from the candidates and their allies — similar to his stance of neutrality in the Texas GOP Senate runoff set for this month.
“It’s not always bad to have a good old primary fight,” Kemp told CNN. “It helps your candidate be better prepared for the general election.”
But some Republicans have expressed frustration with Kemp’s decision to strike out on his own and endorse Dooley. Collins’ campaign issued a memo in March claiming he was leading the field despite “interference from an incumbent governor.”
“If you’re gonna be involved in the Senate races, you should probably just run yourself,” said one national GOP strategist tracking the Georgia contest.
Kemp said it was “not the right time” for him and his family to make another run for office, adding his focus was finding “the right candidate in the US Senate race” and making “sure that our whole ticket wins in November.”
“I feel very good about that,” Kemp added. “I know the polling and the prognosticators don’t think so, but I feel really good about our chances as long as we have the right candidate at the top of ticket.”
The coach vs. the lawmakers
On the campaign trail, Kemp often talks up his close relationship with the Dooley family, including Derek’s late father Vince Dooley, a legendary football coach at the University of Georgia.
Derek Dooley, who has no political experience and did not vote in the 2016 or 2020 elections, has cast himself as a political outsider running against a broken Washington. He’s staked much of his candidacy on a five-point “Georgia First” contract, which includes a pledge to serve only two terms and to not trade individual stock or digital assets while in office. Dooley also has made the case his opponents have long congressional records that can be used against them in a general election.
“I think people are ready for something different, somebody that came from more of an outcome-oriented profession, like I did in coaching, somebody that’s worked with people from all walks of life, and I think that’ll resonate across the state a lot better than the two opponents that I’m running against,” Dooley told CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/politics/brian-kemp-georgia-senate-gop-primary
Derek Dooley speaks on GOP Primaries
0:30 • Source: CNN
Derek Dooley speaks on GOP Primaries
0:30
Asked whether he considers himself more of a Trump or Kemp Republican, Dooley said, “I’m not into all these labels.”
“The leadership that Gov. Kemp and President Trump has shown has been inspirational to me in a lot of ways,” he said. “I’m proud of the party that I’m in right now, but I also have my own leadership style, and that’s what I’m selling.”
Meanwhile, Collins, who owns a trucking business, and Carter, a pharmacist, have more forcefully touted their MAGA credentials. Both congressmen have run TV ads featuring the president’s praise for them. Carter has dubbed himself a “MAGA warrior,” while Collins has touted his work to promote an “America First agenda.”
The two congressmen openly clashed on the debate stage last month. Carter warned Collins, who is facing a House Ethics Committee review over allegations his congressional office misused taxpayer funds, could cost the GOP the Senate seat in November.
“If you’re our candidate, we lose,” said Carter, who has run attack ads on the investigation. “Democrats will eat that up and we will lose again.”
“This is a total nothing burger. It’s an anonymous complaint that anyone can file,” Collins said.
Voters weigh the Kemp factor
For some Republican voters, Kemp’s endorsement holds significant sway.
“I really, really, really like my governor. I have a lot of respect for him, and once he planted that seed in my head that he was for Dooley, Derek Dooley, I started doing more research,” said Jacquolyn Holcombe, a Republican voter from Alpharetta. “I just felt like Dooley was the best man.”
But others aren’t as convinced. Randy Picard, a Republican from Alpharetta, said he ruled out voting Dooley because he’s disappointed Kemp didn’t follow other Republican states and pursue redistricting before the midterm elections. Instead, Kemp has called a June special session to redraw congressional maps for 2028.
“As a Georgian, I feel he’s letting us down because he’s not approving the redistricting,” said Picard, who is leaning toward Collins. “That irritates me and it irritates a lot of Republicans in the state of Georgia.”
“I believe he’s promoting Dooley and that’s great, but I’m not going to,” he added.
The move comes as the term-limited Kemp is entering the final stretch of his eight years as governor, raising questions about his political future.
Asked whether he sees room for his style of Republican politics in the 2028 presidential contest, Kemp insisted he’s focused on the current race for Senate.
“I am not focused on 2028. The best thing we can do as Republicans is make sure that we win in 2026, hold the majorities in the House and the Senate,” Kemp said, adding that supporting Dooley will “help us hold the majority in the Senate if we can beat Jon Ossoff, and that’s all really any Republican needs to be thinking about right now.”
