Georgia Republicans settled a Georgia Senate runoff that split President Donald Trump’s preferences, elevating Rep. Mike Collins while rejecting the White House pick for governor.
In the Senate contest, Collins, 58, defeated former football coach Derek Dooley and advanced to face Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Ossoff is the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump carried two years ago, and the race will help decide Capitol Hill control for the final years of Trump’s second term, according to AP.
Georgia Senate runoff reshapes the November map
Trump endorsed Collins only two days before the runoff. He had backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for governor nearly a year earlier. Healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson, 71, spent about $100 million of his own money and beat Jones for the gubernatorial nomination. Jackson will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Collins calls himself a “MAGA warrior” and repeats Trump’s false claim that the 2020 Georgia result was rigged. On election night in his hometown, he thanked family and staff but did not name the president. He pitched coalition-building and promised to campaign in “every ZIP code.”
What the Georgia Senate runoff means for Trump
The Axo read is that Trump’s endorsement still moves Senate primaries in Georgia, but personal fortune can blunt it in a governor’s race. Jackson spent months comparing his outsider path to Trump’s. On Tuesday he said he owes nothing to the political establishment. Trump later congratulated him on social media and claimed Jackson “campaigned on being ‘TRUMP.'”
Ossoff has framed Trump as the central issue, calling him a “national embarrassment.” Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats for a majority. Republicans have not won a Georgia Senate race since 2016. For more Politics desk coverage, see AXO News Politics.
What comes next after the Georgia Senate runoff
Both parties must unify and raise money fast. Collins enters a closely divided general election where Trump remains a fault line even when nominees soft-pedal the president on stage. Watch early polling in the Collins-Ossoff matchup and whether Jackson’s self-funding advantage carries into a general against Bottoms.
Context on Trump’s mixed primary night also appears in related runoff coverage from Politico.