Trump-backed Rep. Mike Collins projected to win Georgia GOP Senate primary runoff

Washington — Rep. Mike Collins will face off against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November as Republicans look to Georgia to deliver a key GOP victory that could determine control of the Senate.

Collins won the Republican Senate runoff in Georgia on Tuesday night, CBS News projects, defeating Derek Dooley, a former college football coach.

The contest went to a runoff after no candidate secured 50% of the vote in last month's primary, where a third candidate, Rep. Buddy Carter, was eliminated. Collins, the owner of a trucking business, has represented Georgia in the House since 2023 and finished first in the runoff with almost 41% of the vote. Dooley, an attorney who coached football at the University of Tennessee and is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, won around 30% of the vote last month.

Collins secured a last-minute boost on Sunday when President Trump waded into the race, endorsing the two-term congressman over Dooley. The president called Collins a "true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR, who has been with us from the very beginning."

Mr. Trump's endorsement highlighted a proxy battle between the president and Gov. Brian Kemp, who endorsed Collins' opponent. The president and Kemp have had a turbulent relationship, which was marked by the governor resisting Mr. Trump's efforts to intervene in Georgia's presidential election results in 2020.

While Collins pitched himself as a staunch supporter of the president during the primary, like by touting his sponsorship of an immigration bill named for Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant in 2024, Dooley didn't embrace Mr. Trump as readily. Dooley billed himself as a political outsider, while pledging to work with the president for Georgians. After the president's endorsement on Sunday, Dooley said on X that "the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people," while arguing that he was better situated to beat Ossoff.

With the runoff in the rearview, the GOP can now turn its attention to the general election, as Republicans for months have clamored over the chance to take on Ossoff.

As the sole Democrat seeking reelection in a state that Mr. Trump won in 2024, Ossoff is considered the most endangered member of his caucus this cycle. But the elongated primary has blunted Republican efforts to launch their full-fledged opposition. Meanwhile, Ossoff's formidable fundraising efforts have amassed a significant war chest as he looks to fight back against the inevitable onslaught as the general election approaches.

Ossoff, 39, first came to the Senate in 2021. At the time, he delivered Democrats one of two runoff victories in Georgia, which secured the party's majority in the upper chamber. The state shifted toward the right during the last election. But Georgians still haven't elected a Republican to the Senate since 2016.

This cycle, the state could be key to determining control of the Senate. With 53 Republicans, Democrats are hoping to flip four seats while defending their own in a handful of key races — including Georgia. For Republicans eager to hold onto control of the chamber, Ossoff's name is at the top of their list.

Republicans will work to portray Ossoff as aligned with national Democrats and out of step with Georgian values. But Collins' victory may come as good news to Democrats, eager to run against his closeness with the president amid unpopular White House policies, along with highlighting allegations that Collins misused congressional funds, which is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Collins has denied the allegations.