Georgia Republicans have chosen Rep. Mike Collins to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the midterm cycle, while billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson won the party’s nomination for governor in a separate runoff that delivered a setback to President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate.
Collins defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in the Republican Senate runoff, setting up a high-profile November matchup with Ossoff. The race is expected to draw national money and attention because Georgia remains one of the country’s most competitive battleground states.
Collins, a trucking company owner and conservative Republican who has served in the U.S. House since 2023, received Trump’s late endorsement in the runoff. Dooley, the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, was backed by outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
The result gives Trump a win in the Senate race and shows that his endorsement can still matter in a competitive Republican primary. Collins had campaigned as a strong supporter of Trump’s agenda and is expected to make the general election a sharp contrast with Ossoff, who has become one of the Democratic Party’s most visible younger senators.
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Ossoff has represented Georgia in the Senate since 2021, after winning a runoff that helped Democrats take control of the chamber at the time. He is now seeking re-election in a state that remains politically divided and highly expensive to contest. Republicans view the seat as one of their best opportunities to defeat a Democratic incumbent, while Democrats see Ossoff as a strong fundraiser with national appeal.
The Georgia governor’s race produced a different result for Trump’s influence. Rick Jackson defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, even though Jones had Trump’s backing and long-standing ties to the former president’s political operation in Georgia.
Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive and political newcomer, spent heavily from his personal fortune and built a campaign around his outsider image. He argued that his business background made him the stronger candidate to lead Georgia and said he would support Trump’s broader agenda while building on Kemp’s record.
Jones, a conservative Republican who served as lieutenant governor, had also received a late endorsement from Kemp. But Jackson’s heavy advertising and self-funded campaign helped him overcome both Trump’s and Kemp’s support for Jones.
Jackson will now face Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and former Biden administration official. That race is expected to focus on Georgia’s economy, healthcare, crime, abortion, education and the future direction of the state after Kemp’s two terms.
The Republican gubernatorial runoff was unusually bitter. The race included defamation lawsuits, attacks over healthcare contracts and disputes over Georgia campaign finance rules. Jackson challenged a state law allowing Jones to use a leadership committee to raise and spend unlimited funds, while Jones and his allies accused Jackson of profiting from state-linked healthcare business. Jackson denied the attacks and filed his own defamation lawsuit.
The split outcome gives both Trump supporters and Trump skeptics something to point to. In the Senate race, Trump’s endorsement helped Collins defeat a Kemp-backed rival. In the governor’s race, Trump’s endorsed candidate lost to a wealthy outsider who still pledged loyalty to the president’s movement.
That mixed result may shape how Republicans interpret Trump’s influence heading into the general election. He remains the party’s dominant figure, but Georgia showed that money, local networks, candidate image and campaign structure can still matter.
For Democrats, the results set the battlefield. Ossoff will face Collins in a Senate race likely to become one of the most expensive in the country, while Bottoms will face Jackson in a governor’s race that could test whether Democrats can compete statewide in Georgia after years of close contests.
Why It Matters
Georgia is one of the key states that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. Collins’ win gives Republicans a Trump-backed nominee against Ossoff, a Democrat with strong fundraising and national visibility.
The governor’s result also matters because Jackson’s victory over Trump-backed Burt Jones shows that Trump’s endorsement is powerful but not always decisive, especially when a rival can spend heavily and shape the race early.
What Comes Next
Collins and Ossoff will now move into a general election campaign expected to focus on Trump, the economy, immigration, abortion and control of the Senate.
In the governor’s race, Jackson will try to unite Republicans after a bruising runoff, while Bottoms will work to frame him as too extreme or too tied to controversial healthcare business issues. Both contests are likely to attract major national spending before November.
Social media posts highlighted the two major Republican runoff results in Georgia: Mike Collins winning the Senate nomination and Rick Jackson winning the governor’s race.
🚨 JUST IN: Trump-endorsed Mike Collins WINS Georgia US Senate GOP primary, set to face Sen. JON OSSOFF (D) this November
Ossoff HAS TO GO! He betrayed America and supported the invasion!
If we win Georgia we DEFINITELY hold the Senate 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ksunTzFYZv
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 17, 2026
🚨 NOW: Rick Jackson WINS GOP primary for Georgia governor, defeating Trump-endorsed Burt Jones pic.twitter.com/RXgjK5QCHA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 17, 2026
