Collins wins Georgia GOP runoff to face Ossoff

Republican Rep. Mike Collins won Georgia’s Senate primary runoff Tuesday, setting up a November showdown with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the country’s most closely watched races for control of the Senate.

The Associated Press called the race for Collins, who defeated Derek Dooley, a former college football coach backed by term-limited Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. CBS News also projected Collins as the winner. The runoff followed last month’s Republican primary, when no candidate reached 50% and Rep. Buddy Carter was eliminated. CBS reported that Collins, a trucking business owner, led that primary with nearly 41% of the vote, while Dooley won about 30%.

Collins, who has represented Georgia in the House since 2023, received a late endorsement from President Donald Trump after early voting had ended. Trump called Collins a “true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR, who has been with us from the very beginning.”

Trump also criticized Dooley, saying the former coach lacked strong ties to Georgia and to Trump’s agenda. “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump wrote. “Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”

Dooley, an attorney and the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, had presented himself as a political outsider and argued he was better positioned to defeat Ossoff in a competitive state. After Trump’s endorsement, Dooley wrote on X that “the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people.” NPR reported that Dooley supporters argued an outsider would be more electable in a purple state during a challenging year for Republicans, but runoff voters chose Collins.

The race also underscored tension between Trump and Kemp, whose relationship has been strained since Kemp resisted Trump’s efforts to intervene in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. Kemp endorsed Dooley and supported him with political staff and fundraising appeals, according to The Guardian.

Collins ran as a staunch Trump ally. CBS reported that he touted his sponsorship of an immigration bill named for Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant in 2024. Talking Points Memo reported that 46 Democrats joined Republicans in passing the Laken Riley Act, which tightens requirements for federal immigration authorities and expands states’ rights in immigration-related criminal justice issues.

The general election will put Collins against Ossoff, 39, who entered the Senate in 2021 after one of two Georgia runoff victories that gave Democrats control of the chamber. CBS reported that Ossoff is considered the most endangered Senate Democrat seeking reelection this cycle because he is the only Democrat running in a state Trump won in 2024. Georgians, however, have not elected a Republican to the Senate since 2016.

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, and Democrats are trying to flip four while defending competitive seats, including Georgia. Republicans are expected to cast Ossoff as aligned with national Democrats and out of step with Georgia voters. Democrats, meanwhile, are likely to target Collins’ close ties to Trump and allegations that he misused congressional funds, which CBS reported are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Collins has denied the allegations.

Ossoff has already attacked both Republicans. “They’re both corrupt political insiders, and they’re both pro-war, pro-tariff, and pro-cutting your healthcare,” he said at an Atlanta event at the end of May, according to Talking Points Memo.