Trump-backed Mike – Georgia’s Republican primary on Tuesday crowned Congressman Mike Collins, the candidate backed by President Donald Trump, as he defeated former football coach Derek Dooley. The win sets up a November matchup against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, while other Trum
For Tuesday night in Georgia, the momentum belonged to the candidate President Donald Trump backed—until it didn’t.
Congressman Mike Collins cruised to victory in the Republican primary, defeating former football coach Derek Dooley. Collins’ win comes after Trump threw his support behind Dooley, including through the broader push tied to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whose-backed candidate fell short.
The result puts Collins on track to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November—one of the marquee Senate races of the midterms.
In his victory speech Tuesday. Collins said he spoke to Dooley and Kemp and that he is “glad they’re on board.” He laid out what he called the mission in the campaign ahead: “You all know what the mission is: it’s to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November. return this seat to the people of Georgia.”.
Ossoff, for his part, wasted little time previewing the contrast in a short statement Tuesday. He called Collins “Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate” and said Collins is a “notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars.”
Ossoff added that Collins “is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman,” and pointed to votes he says were central to the race’s fight: voting to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, voting for the Iran War, and voting for the Trump tariffs.
If Georgia is offering voters a high-stakes showdown over the Senate seat, it’s also showing how uneven the Trump effect can be from race to race.
In the Republican fight to succeed Kemp, billionaire businessman Rick Jackson defeated Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican runoff. Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own money on the campaign and will now face former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Elsewhere, other Trump-backed results also moved forward.
In Alabama, Trump-backed Congressman Barry Moore won the Republican Senate runoff to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.
In Oklahoma, Congressman Kevin Hern won the GOP Senate primary, putting him on track to succeed Markwayne Mullin after Mullin moved to the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.
California’s special election to fill embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell’s seat will go to a runoff. Senator Aisha Wahab is leading the pack with more than 40% of the votes, and it is not yet clear who she will face in the runoff.
Washington, D.C., meanwhile, has a mayoral race that had not been called as of Wednesday morning. Voters turned out Tuesday to choose a new mayor after Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser announced she was retiring after three terms. Council member Janeese Lewis George is leading with almost 53% of the vote, while Kenyan McDuffie trails with 36%.
In Georgia, Collins’ party win sets the stage for an autumn contest centered on Ossoff’s sharp accusations and Collins’ pledge to keep the seat in Republican hands—an argument that will now be tested directly against the Democratic incumbent once the campaign enters the general election.
Mike Collins Derek Dooley Jon Ossoff Georgia Senate race Donald Trump Brian Kemp Burt Jones Rick Jackson Keisha Lance Bottoms Barry Moore Tommy Tuberville Kevin Hern Markwayne Mullin Aisha Wahab Eric Swalwell Muriel Bowser Janeese Lewis George Kenyan McDuffie
Ossoff is gonna slam him, I can already tell.
Wait Trump backed Dooley?? So like Trump just switched sides last second or what. Sounds like chaos in the party again.
The part about “under federal investigation” is wild. But also “health insurance premiums double” like how is that not front page forever? I don’t even know what Jon Ossoff is doing right now besides calling people names honestly.
Collins saying “get rid of Jon Ossoff” is literally the whole campaign. Like okay cool, but can someone explain why the ‘tax dollars’ thing is even being investigated? Also if his daddy was a congressman… that’s every politician ever tho, so calling it out feels kinda selective.