Two-term U.S. Rep. Mike Collins advanced to Georgia’s Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, setting up a face-off against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
The owner of a family trucking business, Collins, 58, represents a district east of Atlanta. He has made immigration enforcement a focus of his candidacy.
Collins, an ally of President Donald Trump who calls himself a “MAGA workhorse,” defeated Rep. Buddy Carter and Derek Dooley, a lawyer and former football coach, for the Republican nomination.
Ossoff, 39, is the only Democratic senator in the country seeking reelection this year in a state that Trump won in 2024. Republicans are hopeful that they can oust him and prevent Democrats from gaining a Senate majority.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson have advanced to the June 16 Republican runoff for Georgia governor, extending a bruising campaign battle.
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President Donald Trump endorsed Jones last year — and got a thank you from the candidate Tuesday night. A Jones win would boost Trump’s influence in a critical battleground state. The president’s kingmaker record in Georgia had been shaky, failing to dislodge Gov. Brian Kemp and others in 2022 and backing Herschel Walker in a Senate loss that year.
The Republican nominee will try to hold onto the governor’s office for the party, which has won every election to the post since 2002.
Democratic voters are also considering who should lead the party’s effort to win the governor’s office. The candidates include Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor; Geoff Duncan, a Republican-turned-Democrat who served as lieutenant governor; Jason Esteves, a former state senator; and Mike Thurmond, a former state labor commissioner.
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US Senate race will help determine Capitol Hill control
Sen. Ossoff, 39, clinched his party’s nomination for a second term on Tuesday night. He had no opposition in the primary.
He's the only Democratic senator in the country seeking reelection this year in a state that Trump won in 2024, making his race one of the most closely watched in the country. He has positioned himself as a critic of political corruption, targeting Trump and his sons for business dealings that have enriched the first family.
This is Ossoff’s first reelection campaign. He became Georgia’s first Jewish senator in 2021.
