put a Republican in that seat and get rid of Jon Ossoff
In the long contest over who speaks for Georgia — and by extension, who shapes the Senate — Rep. Mike Collins has emerged from a Republican runoff as the man who will carry that question into November. Backed at the last moment by President Trump, Collins defeated Derek Dooley in a race that was as much about the fault lines within the GOP as it was about the general election ahead. The outcome sets the stage for a consequential autumn matchup against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, whose seat may prove the hinge on which Senate control turns.
- Trump's Sunday endorsement of Collins transformed a Georgia runoff into a national referendum on loyalty, pitting the president directly against Gov. Brian Kemp, who had backed Dooley.
- Collins cleared the field with just under 41 percent, but the fractured primary has left Republicans with less time and a narrower runway to build a campaign against a well-funded incumbent.
- Ossoff enters the general election as the most endangered Democrat in the country — the only member of his party defending a seat in a state Trump carried in 2024 — yet he holds a significant financial advantage.
- Both parties are already sharpening their attacks: Republicans will tie Ossoff to unpopular national Democrats, while Democrats will press Collins on his Trump alignment, trade positions, and an ongoing House Ethics investigation.
- With Republicans holding 53 Senate seats and Democrats needing four flips, Georgia is the race both sides have circled — and Collins himself called the road ahead 'challenging.'
Mike Collins will spend the next five months trying to unseat Jon Ossoff, and the outcome may well determine who controls the Senate. The Republican congressman won Georgia's GOP runoff on Tuesday night, defeating Derek Dooley — a former football coach and attorney — with just under 41 percent of the vote. The runoff had been required because no candidate cleared 50 percent in the earlier primary, which also included Rep. Buddy Carter.
The contest quickly became a proxy war between two of the Republican Party's most powerful figures. President Trump endorsed Collins on Sunday, calling him a true ally who had been with him "from the very beginning" — a pointed message aimed as much at Gov. Brian Kemp, who backed Dooley, as at Georgia voters. The two leaders have a fraught history rooted in 2020, when Kemp refused Trump's pressure to overturn Georgia's presidential results. Collins leaned hard into his Trump alignment throughout the primary, while Dooley positioned himself as an independent voice willing to work with the president but not defined by him. After Trump's endorsement landed, Dooley responded that "the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people." In his victory speech, Collins said both Dooley and Kemp had called to offer their support.
Ossoff, 39, first won his Senate seat in the 2021 runoffs that handed Democrats control of the chamber. He is now the most vulnerable Democrat seeking reelection — the only member of his party defending a seat in a state Trump won in 2024. Yet he has built a formidable war chest, and the elongated Republican primary has given him additional time to prepare. No Republican has won a Georgia Senate seat since 2016.
The general election will be fought on competing portraits. Republicans will argue Ossoff is out of step with Georgia; Democrats will tie Collins to Trump's trade policies, his positions on Iran, and an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of misused congressional funds — which Collins has denied. With the Senate majority potentially at stake, both parties have marked this race as one they cannot afford to lose.
Mike Collins will spend the next five months trying to unseat Jon Ossoff, and the outcome may well determine who controls the Senate. The Republican congressman won Georgia's GOP runoff on Tuesday night, CBS News projects, clearing a path to face the Democratic incumbent in November—a matchup that both parties have circled on their calendars as potentially decisive for the chamber's balance of power.
Collins, who owns a trucking business and has represented Georgia in the House since 2023, finished with just under 41 percent of the vote, defeating Derek Dooley, a former football coach and attorney. The runoff was necessary because no candidate had reached 50 percent in the earlier primary, which also featured Rep. Buddy Carter. Dooley, whose father Vince Dooley was a legendary coach at the University of Georgia, drew around 30 percent support last month.
The race became a proxy war between two powerful figures in Republican politics. President Trump endorsed Collins on Sunday, calling him a "true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR, who has been with us from the very beginning." That endorsement carried weight—and it also carried a message. Gov. Brian Kemp had backed Dooley, and the two leaders have a fraught history dating back to 2020, when Kemp resisted Trump's attempts to overturn Georgia's presidential election results. Collins leaned heavily into his alignment with the president during the primary, highlighting his sponsorship of legislation named for Laken Riley, a nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant in 2024. Dooley positioned himself as a political outsider willing to work with Trump but not beholden to him. After Trump's endorsement landed, Dooley countered that "the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people."
In his victory speech, Collins said he had spoken with both Dooley and Kemp on election night and that both were "on board." He then pivoted immediately to the general election, telling supporters the mission was clear: "put a Republican in that seat and get rid of ... Jon Ossoff in November."
Ossoff, 39, first arrived in the Senate in 2021 after winning one of two runoff victories that gave Democrats control of the chamber. He is now the most vulnerable Democrat seeking reelection this cycle—the sole member of his party defending a seat in a state that Trump won in 2024. Yet he has built a formidable financial advantage, amassing a significant war chest even as the elongated Republican primary has given the GOP less time to mount a full campaign against him. No Republican has won a Georgia Senate seat since 2016, though the state has drifted rightward in recent years.
The general election will hinge on competing portraits. Republicans will argue that Ossoff is out of step with Georgia, aligned with national Democrats and their unpopular policies. Democrats will counter that Collins is too close to Trump, pointing to his alignment with the president's trade policies, his positions on Iran, and his support for last year's tax law. They will also highlight an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that Collins misused congressional funds—allegations he has denied.
With Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate and Democrats needing to flip four seats while defending their own in several key races, Georgia looms large. For Republicans eager to maintain their majority, Ossoff's name sits at the very top of their target list. Collins himself acknowledged the difficulty ahead, calling the race "challenging" and predicting that national Democrats would work "overtime" to keep Ossoff in office. Ossoff, for his part, called Collins an "extremist" in a Tuesday evening statement, framing the race as a choice about the direction of the state and the country.
Citações Notáveis
Now, we stand united around one mission. It's to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of Jon Ossoff in November.— Mike Collins, in his victory speech
The most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people.— Derek Dooley, responding to Trump's endorsement of Collins
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Trump's endorsement matter so much in a race that was already set to go to a runoff?
Because it crystallized something that had been simmering beneath the surface—a fight between Trump and Kemp over who controls the Republican Party in Georgia. Kemp backed Dooley. Trump backed Collins. It wasn't really about the candidates; it was about power.
And Collins won. Does that mean Trump's influence in Georgia is still strong?
It suggests it is, at least in a Republican primary. But the general election is different. Ossoff will try to make Collins's closeness to Trump a liability, not an asset. That's the real test.
Ossoff seems to have a money advantage. Is that enough?
Money matters, but it's not everything. He's defending a seat in a state that's moved right. The question is whether he can convince enough Georgians that he's not a national Democrat, or whether Collins can convince them that he is.
What happens if Collins wins in November?
Republicans take the Senate seat they've been hunting for. If Ossoff holds on, it's a sign that Georgia isn't as red as it looks, and Democrats have a real chance in other competitive races.
How much does the ethics investigation into Collins matter?
It's a tool Democrats will use, but it only works if voters believe it reflects something real about his character. Collins denies the allegations. The investigation is ongoing. By November, people will have made up their minds about what it means.