Collins defeats Dooley for GOP U.S. Senate nomination

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins is one step closer to moving across the U.S. Capitol to the Senate after winning the Republican runoff on Tuesday night.

Collins easily beat former football coach Derek Dooley, according to unofficial election results. The Associated Press called the race for Collins at shortly after 8:30 p.m. His family and campaign volunteers joined him for an election night party in his hometown of Jackson.

During his victory speech, Collins said incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff might have a campaign war chest and liberal agenda, but he will take a message focused on affordability and backing President Donald Trump’s conservative policies to voters across the state.

“We won’t be outworked; we won’t be outrun,” Collins said. “We’re going to travel to every corner of the state of Georgia — from Bainbridge to Blue Ridge, from Buckhead to Bankhead — every ZIP code in every community to share our plan to make their lives better.”

A two-term member of Congress, Collins will face Ossoff in the November general election. The Atlanta Democrat is the No. 1 target of Republicans who hope to flip his seat and preserve their Senate majority.

Collins led in the polls throughout the primary and drew endorsements from state and local elected officials across Georgia despite several scandals, including a pending House Ethics Committee probe and problematic posts on social media. One such post targeting the wife of a Dooley operative led to Collins firing a top political aide responsible for the post.

Dooley campaigned alongside Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp, longtime friends who backed him from the start. But he was a political unknown before the race who admitted to not paying much attention to politics until relatively recently.

He called Collins to concede shortly after the race was called. In a short concession speech, he thanked the Kemps for believing in him and lending their support.

“They stuck their neck out for a guy who’s never been in politics,” he said. “They did this for one reason: Because deep down in their heart, they thought it was the best thing for the state.”

State Rep. David Clark, R-Sugar Hill, was among Collins’ earliest supporters, backing him at his launch last year. He said Collins has shown he can produce results in Washington.

“In a very short time in Congress, he got two bills passed, which says a lot because we know how it goes in D.C. right now,” Clark said. “He’s shown he can lead out of the gate and get stuff done for everyday Georgians and Americans.”

Ossoff released a statement Tuesday providing a preview of the attacks he will use against Collins during the lead up to the November election.