Rep. Mike Collins defeated Derek Dooley in Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff, setting up a matchup with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as Republicans fight to keep momentum in a state Trump won in 2024. The victory puts immigration, ethics scrutiny, and a st
ATLANTA — Rep. Mike Collins moved one step closer to Capitol Hill power after defeating first-time candidate Derek Dooley for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Georgia.
The win means Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff for a seat that could help determine control of Capitol Hill in the final years of Donald Trump’s second presidency. The general election already carries a clear fault line: Trump is a central figure in how both parties are pitching the race. even though the president did not endorse in the primary runoff.
Collins has, however, aligned himself closely with Trump since he first won his House seat in north Georgia in 2022. A trucking company owner and the son of a congressman, Collins campaigns as a self-described “MAGA warrior.”
Ossoff. who was first elected in 2020. has framed Trump as a danger to public trust. blasting him as a “national embarrassment” using the presidency to enrich himself and his family. The contrast is stark in another way: Ossoff is the lone Senate Democrat running in a state Trump won in 2024. Democrats are under heavy pressure to hold the seat while they try to gain a net of four seats to claim a Senate majority.
Georgia’s Senate history adds to the pressure. Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate contest in Georgia since 2016, the year of Trump’s first election.
For Collins, the political strategy is partly about coalition-building. He has argued that, despite his ties to Trump and the Republican base, he can build a broad coalition. He also plans to use immigration as a defining contrast with Ossoff.
In the House, Collins sponsored the Laken Riley Act, a 2025 law requiring immigrants accused of certain crimes to be detained. The law is named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2021 by a Venezuelan man who was in the U.S. illegally. Ossoff voted against a version of the legislation before backing the final proposal after Trump’s return to power.
But Collins’ path to the nomination was not only about policy. His Republican opponents highlighted a House ethics complaint accusing him of abusing taxpayer funds by paying the girlfriend of his former top adviser for congressional job duties she allegedly did not fulfill. After an initial investigation, a federal panel forwarded the matter to the House Ethics Committee.
The runoff victory also leaves Collins starting the general election with a financial disadvantage.
Collins raised about $4.9 million through the end of May and reported having less than $1.2 million remaining. Ossoff, by contrast, reported that through late April—the last time he had to file before his primary—he had raised $60.4 million and had $32.5 million on hand.
The matchup now turns on how Georgia voters weigh loyalty to Trump against the scrutiny Collins has drawn, and whether a fundraising and organizing gap can be overcome as the race moves toward a battle over the Senate in the last stretch of Trump’s second presidency.
Georgia Senate runoff Mike Collins Derek Dooley Jon Ossoff Laken Riley Act immigration House ethics complaint MAGA warrior Trump second presidency Capitol Hill control fundraising gap