Georgia GOP Runoffs Deliver a Split: Collins Wins Senate Nomination, Jackson Defeats Trump-Backed Jones for Governor

Since Georgia's May 19 primary left no candidate above 50 percent in either statewide race, Tuesday's runoffs were always going to be the real decision point for the party.

Collins Wins. Cleanly.

Rep. Mike Collins defeated former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley by roughly twelve percentage points in the Senate runoff, according to the Associated Press, NBC News, and CBS News, all of which called the race within roughly an hour of polls closing. With 70.9 percent of votes counted, the Daily Signal reported Collins leading 56 percent to 44 percent.

Collins had led the May primary at 40.5 percent. Dooley, who finished second at 30.2 percent, was recruited and actively campaigned for by Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump did not formally endorse Collins until early Sunday morning, after early runoff voting had already ended, issuing a lengthy Truth Social post calling Collins a "true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR."

In the same post, Trump dismissed Dooley as someone who "lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn't vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020." Dooley's supporters argued he would be more electable in a genuinely competitive state, pointing to polling from RealClear that showed Ossoff leading Dooley by 6.7 points in a hypothetical general matchup versus 2.8 points over Collins. Georgia runoff voters rejected that argument.

Dooley said on election night that "the most important endorsement is that of the Georgia people" while contending he was the stronger general-election candidate. After his loss, Collins said he spoke with both Dooley and Kemp, and both are "on board."

Jackson Defeats Jones. Trump Loses One.

The gubernatorial result was different. Rick Jackson, a healthcare executive and first-time candidate, defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones 52.9 percent to 47.1 percent when NBC News called the race with approximately 82 percent of votes in, according to Breitbart. Trump had endorsed Jones in August 2025, over a year out from the general election.

Jackson reportedly spent more than $100 million of his own money on the campaign, per multiple sources including the WLRN/NPR report by Stephen Fowler. He entered the race six months after Jones and closed a gap: in the May primary Jones had led Jackson 38.4 percent to 32.5 percent, with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr splitting the rest. Kemp issued a last-minute endorsement of Jones before Tuesday, but it wasn't enough.

Jackson will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee, in November.

Tuesday's result was a genuine setback for Trump's endorsement brand in the governor's race. The WLRN/NPR report characterized it as a "rare primary endorsement defeat" for the president.

The Strongest Case for Jones's Supporters

Trump's early, firm endorsement combined with Kemp's late support represented the combined political weight of the two most powerful Republican figures in Georgia's recent history. Jackson's win despite that alignment reflects either the power of self-funded outsider campaigns or dissatisfaction with the political establishment, or both. Whether Jackson can replicate that appeal in a general election against Bottoms rather than in a closed GOP primary remains an open question.

What This Sets Up in November

Collins versus Ossoff is the race with the highest national stakes. Ossoff won his seat in the January 2021 runoff by defeating then-Sen. David Perdue, and Trump carried Georgia in 2024. The Cook Political Report rates the race as "leans Democrat," per the Daily Signal. Ossoff has raised more money than any incumbent senator this cycle, according to Breitbart, and immediately attacked Collins on election night, posting on X that Collins is "a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars." Those are allegations, not findings; no charges or conviction have been reported.

Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to retake the chamber. Flipping Georgia would be one significant step toward that, but they'd need more. Republicans see Collins-Ossoff as a legitimate pickup opportunity in a state Trump won two years ago.

The elongated primary process, as CBS News noted, has given Ossoff months of uncontested fundraising and organizing time while Republicans settled their internal fight. That financial gap is the most concrete structural disadvantage Collins carries into the fall.