Rep. Mike Collins wins GOP runoff in Georgia Senate race

NBC News projects Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most competitive Senate races this year.

Rep. Mike Collins has won the Republican Senate runoff in Georgia, NBC News projects, setting up a race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most competitive and important campaigns in the country.

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Collins’ primary victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley is also a win for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Collins just a few days before Tuesday’s runoff election. Dooley was endorsed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who campaigned heavily for his candidate and argued the GOP needed a political outsider to defeat Ossoff.

Collins and Dooley met in the runoff after no candidate won a majority of the primary vote on May 19. As Republicans continued to battle for the nomination, Ossoff has been gearing up for a hotly contested race. He is the only Democratic senator running for re-election in a state Trump carried in 2024, and Georgia is a must-win state for Democrats, who are trying for a net gain of four seats to take over the Senate.