Trump ally Mike Collins beats Gov. Brian Kemp's Senate pick in Georgia race

Brett Pulley, Bloomberg News on Jun 16, 2026

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Republican Rep, Mike Collins defeated Derek Dooley in a runoff election for the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia, advancing to face incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff in what will be one of a handful of races this November that will help decide control of the U.S. Senate.

The election was a duel of endorsements, with President Donald Trump endorsing Collins in the final days leading up to Tuesday’s vote, while popular outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had long backed Dooley, a political newcomer and former football coach at the University of Tennessee.

The race represents one of the best chances for Republicans to try and pick up a Democratic-held Senate seat, coming in a state Trump won in both his 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

Ossoff has moved to consolidate his hold on the swing state seat, building up a formidable war chest of more than $55 million as he seeks a second term in office. Polling this year has consistently showed Ossoff with a single-digit lead over whichever Republican he might face, and the Cook Political Report rates the race Lean Democrat.

Kemp and Trump have had an uneasy relationship. The governor, who enjoys high approval ratings in Georgia, refused to go along with Trump’s requests to intervene in the 2020 election, where he narrowly lost to Joe Biden. In 2022, Trump endorsed a failed bid by former U.S. Senator David Perdue to replace Kemp in the governor’s mansion.

Kemp has long said Dooley would be a stronger candidate against Ossoff while the president, who has prized personal loyalty in several competitive races this cycle, suggested that Dooley’s acknowledgment that he lost Georgia in 2020 was a factor in his backing Collins instead.

Democrats need to win a net four seats in November’s midterm elections to secure Senate control. With a limited number of potential pickup opportunities, it’s critical for them to hold seats in places like Georgia and Michigan, where Trump himself has had electoral success.

If Democrats do win the Senate, it would mean President Donald Trump will lose a Republican majority that has advanced the bulk of his legislative priorities and approved nearly all of his nominees for key jobs. It would also open up his administration to additional oversight scrutiny during his final two years as president from lawmakers who would have the power to subpoena key officials.

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(With assistance from Bryan Pietsch.)