U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff cruises to reelection over Republican Mike Collins
What was once expected to be the most competitive U.S. Senate race in the country turned out to be a walk in the park for the incumbent.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff easily won a second term in office defeating U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, according to unofficial results. The Associated Press called race was called roughly an hour after polls closed with Ossoff claiming about two-thirds of the tallied votes.
With Ossoff retaining his seat, Democrats are in a stronger position to take the majority in the Senate by flipping four Republican-held seats.
The Atlanta Democrat ran on a platform of restoring cuts to Medicaid and subsidies to make health coverage more affordable. He also touted his reputation as an accessible lawmaker who brings home the money and is responsive to constituents’ concerns. Several local GOP elected officials endorsed his campaign.
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Ossoff was also a sharp critic of President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, often accusing the president of being distracted by the war in Iran and beautification projects in Washington while people suffered under a sagging economy and rising costs.
Meanwhile, Collins throughout the election never distanced himself from Trump even as the president’s approval ratings sagged. Collins backed the Iran war and Trump’s tariffs policies, both of which polled poorly with voters.
Collins won a competitive Republican primary to determine who would challenge Ossoff. He defeated former football coach Derek Dooley in the June runoff despite concerns from Gov. Brian Kemp and other GOP leaders that Collins was too flawed to defeat Ossoff.
He was already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee concerning allegations that he allowed his former chief of staff Brandon Phillips to hire his girlfriend for a no-show internship and misused federal funds. Collins later fired Phillips after he posted a crude rape joke on social media concerning the wife of an adviser to Dooley.
The controversies only mounted after the primary. News reports dug into ties to antisemitism and white nationalism among multiple people in Collins’ orbit, including his son-in-law who lives on his property in Jackson.
During the final weeks of the campaign, both Republican and Democrat affiliated groups shifted their spending away from Georgia as polls showed Ossoff with a commanding lead. Ossoff also greatly outpaced Collins in fundraising, amassing a war chest of $136.6 million compared to Collins’ $9.7 million.
Collins, who owns a trucking business, will now return to the private sector but could be a candidate for a federal appointment during the last two years of Trump’s term in office.
After a fiery campaign full of personal attacks, Collins’ concession speech did not mention or congratulate Ossoff once. Instead, he used his time to thank his family, team and supporters.
“When I get out of that truck and get into the crowd, y’all give me the fuel,” he said. “Y’all give me the fuel to keep going.”
He also thanked another Republican politician who hovered over the race.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve under the leadership of the best president in my lifetime: President Donald J. Trump,” Collins said.
Ossoff, 39, is the youngest sitting U.S. senator and considered a rising star in the party. His commanding presence on the campaign trail and easy win over Collins puts him in the national conversation ahead of the 2028 presidential primaries. Yet Ossoff has said repeatedly that he has “zero interest” in running for president.