By Ty Tagami
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins defeated political newcomer Derek Dooley in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate and will face incumbent Jon Ossoff in November.
The second-term congressman from Jackson held more than a 10 percentage point margin over Dooley after nearly all precincts had reported Tuesday.
Collins thanked Dooley for running a "spirited" campaign and said it was time for their party to unite.
"Republicans have robust primaries — sometimes with strong disagreements — but now we stand united around one mission: defeating Jon Ossoff in November and returning this Senate seat to the people of Georgia," Collins said.
He benefited from a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump, who posted his support on social media after midnight Sunday.
Dooley, a former football coach and the son of legendary Bulldogs leader Vince Dooley, had entered the race with the backing of Gov. Brian Kemp last summer.
Despite his relationship with the popular Republican governor, Dooley had promoted himself as a political outsider, pledging in a debate in May to leave the Senate after serving two six-year terms. Congress had failed to adequately support Trump, he argued, in an effort to appeal to the president's supporters and undermine incumbents such as Collins.
But Collins pointed to the passage of his Laken Riley Act, signed into law by Trump in January 2025 as the first bill of his second term. The legislation was a reaction to the murder of a University of Georgia student, and it aligned with the president’s immigration enforcement policies.
Collins, a trucking company owner who represents Georgia's 10th Congressional District east of Atlanta, emerged from the May 19 primary with a 10 percentage point lead over Dooley in their three-way race with U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter.
Trump threw his support behind Collins late in the race.
In a 12:56 a.m. post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said Collins had been a loyal supporter, and he criticized Dooley as not only a political outsider but also as someone who "has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life.” Trump also criticized Dooley for once saying that Trump had lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
This article is available through a partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Association's nonprofit, tax-exempt Educational Foundation.