Georgia GOP Senate Primary Heads to Runoff as Collins and Dooley Advance

Georgia’s Republican Senate primary will move to a runoff after U.S. Representative Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley emerged as the top candidates in Tuesday’s election. With about 80% of votes counted, Collins led the race with 40.5%, while Dooley secured 30%, according to the Associated Press. Representative Buddy Carter was eliminated despite spending heavily to increase his statewide visibility.

The runoff, scheduled for June 16, will decide which Republican candidate will challenge Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in the highly anticipated 2026 Georgia Senate election. Political analysts view the race as one of the most important contests in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority.

Mike Collins, a two-term congressman from Georgia, built his campaign around strong conservative messaging and close alignment with President Donald Trump. The 58-year-old lawmaker also highlighted his sponsorship of the Laken Riley Act, legislation tied to immigration enforcement following the killing of a Georgia nursing student by a man accused of being in the country illegally.

Derek Dooley, 57, entered the race as a political outsider despite his high-profile career as a college football coach and attorney. Backed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Dooley positioned himself as an alternative to Washington politics and appealed to Republican voters seeking a fresh face in the Senate race.

Meanwhile, Senator Jon Ossoff appears well-positioned heading into the general election. Recent polling shows the Democratic incumbent leading both Collins and Dooley. Although Trump carried Georgia in the 2024 presidential election with nearly 51% of the vote, some political analysts now consider the state to be leaning Democratic.

Ossoff first won his Senate seat in a 2021 runoff against Republican David Perdue, making Georgia runoff elections a familiar battleground in national politics.