Trump-backed Rep. Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP Senate runoff, will face Sen. Jon Ossoff in November

Rep. Mike Collins, backed by Donald Trump, wins Georgia's GOP Senate runoff and will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in a high-stakes November election. The race, a proxy battle between Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp, is critical for Senate control. Collins faces an ethics probe and a massive fundraising disadvantage, with Ossoff having raised over $80 million to Collins' $4.9 million.

Collins GOP Senate runoff victory

• ▪Mike Collins expressed confidence that Republicans would unite after the "spirited" primary to defeat Jon Ossoff
• ▪The runoff was necessary after no candidate won a majority in the May 19 primary
• ▪With about 59% of the vote counted, Mike Collins led Derek Dooley 55% to 45%
• ▪Mike Collins will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the November 3 general election
• ▪Rep. Mike Collins won the Republican Senate runoff in Georgia, defeating former college football coach Derek Dooley

Trump endorsement of Collins

• ▪Derek Dooley, Collins' opponent, was endorsed by Georgia's Republican Governor, Brian Kemp
• ▪Rep. Mike Collins, first elected to the House in 2022, has positioned himself as a staunch ally of Donald Trump
• ▪The runoff was widely seen as a proxy battle between the Trump and Kemp wings of the Georgia Republican Party
• ▪President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins two days before the runoff election

Georgia Senate race competitiveness

• ▪In 2024, Donald Trump won Georgia by 2 percentage points, while Jon Ossoff won his seat in a 2021 runoff by just over 1 point
• ▪Sen. Jon Ossoff is the only Democratic senator seeking re-election in a state Donald Trump won in 2024

Collins-Ossoff campaign attacks

• ▪Mike Collins has criticized Sen. Jon Ossoff, stating he "doesn’t represent" Georgia's values and "has never had a real job."
• ▪On the social media platform X, Sen. Jon Ossoff called Mike Collins an "extremist."
• ▪Collins authored the Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention measure that was the first bill President Trump signed into law in his second term
• ▪Sen. Jon Ossoff has criticized Mike Collins as "a congressman who’s only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman."

House Ethics Committee probe

• ▪Rep. Mike Collins has dismissed the allegations related to the ethics probe as "bogus."
• ▪A House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Rep. Mike Collins misused congressional funds

Campaign fundraising disparities

• ▪Two major super PACs have pledged to spend a combined $64 million on the Georgia Senate race
• ▪Sen. Jon Ossoff's campaign has raised more than $80 million and had $32 million in cash on hand as of April 29
• ▪Rep. Mike Collins' campaign has raised $4.9 million and had $1.2 million in cash on hand as of May 27