Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP Senate runoff, sets up high-stakes clash with Jon Ossoff

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The question of who will face Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff this fall was decided Tuesday night, setting up what will become one of America’s most watched Senate races in November.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins - who has portrayed himself as a “MAGA warrior,” defeated first-time political candidate Derek Dooley in their runoff for the GOP Senate nomination.

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Collins and Dooley finished first and second, respectively, in last month’s primaries, while U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter finished third. Neither Collins or Dooley were able to capture an outright majority, thus setting the stage for Tuesday’s runoff.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump endorsed Collins in the runoff, while Gov. Brian Kemp had earlier lent his support to Dooley.

National Republicans tried unsuccessfully to recruit Kemp, the outgoing Georgia governor, to enter the race. Once Kemp announced he was not going to seek the position, Carter and Collins immediately jumped in, followed by Dooley, son of the University of Georgia football and athletics legend, the late Vince Dooley.

Republicans hold a 52-to-48-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, and Republicans have targeted Ossoff’s seat as a pickup possibility this fall.

For his part, Ossoff has begun making campaign appearances with Keisha Lance Bottoms, the one-term Atlanta mayor who is now the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Bottoms is hoping to become the nation’s first Black female governor, as well as the first Democrat elected Georgia governor this century.

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