By Nathan Worcester
Contributing Writer
JACKSON, Ga. — A competitive contest among Georgia Republicans is on its way to a second round.
As of 11:52 p.m. ET on Tuesday, none of the major candidates in the Senate GOP primary — Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, R-Ga., and former football coach Derek Dooley — had claimed more than 50% of the vote in the Senate primary.
At 9:44 p.m. ET, the Associated Press declared that Collins will advance to the runoff. It later declared that Dooley will face him in that race.
As of 11:52 p.m., Collins had received 40.5% of the vote. Dooley followed with 30.1%, while Carter trailed in third with 25.2%.
The runoff was expected ahead of Election Day, as polling generally did not show any candidate with a majority.
Bernadette Breslin, the national press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that “Republicans are united behind defeating Ossoff and retiring his record of failure for Georgia.”
At his Election Night event in Jackson, home to his trucking company, Collins celebrated his win and pitched himself as a candidate capable of clinching the general election in a deep purple state.
“Georgians want bipartisan productivity and common sense,” he said.
Collins, who received significantly less ad support than his two Republican competitors and Ossoff, said he had built an effective ground game, deploying more than 800 grassroots “Convoy Captains.”
“You don’t win this state anymore by running the most TV ads,” he said.
No Trump Endorsement So Far
Collins is known for cosponsoring the Laken Riley Act, a bill aimed at accused criminal illegal aliens that was the first piece of legislation President Donald Trump signed into law in 2025.
Although he and the other hopefuls all emphasized their support for Trump, the president did not issue an endorsement in the race.
A Republican operative said that Trump may weigh in if the runoff pits Collins against Dooley.
Dooley, who has coached for the University of Tennessee and other college and professional football teams, is closely associated with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican.
Kemp’s sporadic conflicts with Trump, including his decision in 2020 not to support the president’s challenge of election results in the state, have complicated GOP dynamics in Georgia, including in the 2026 Senate primary.
“We’re not necessarily expecting a Trump endorsement to come if it’s the case of Collins and Carter advancing to a runoff, since they’re both House members,” the Republican operative said, noting that the margins in the lower chamber are razor-thin.
On Election Night, Collins declined to comment on any potential hesitancy on Trump’s part to endorse in a Collins vs. Carter contest, saying, “I never, ever, ever, ever speak for the president of the United States.” He added that he would welcome Trump’s backing.
“I look forward to having the right support at the right time, when it’s necessary,” he said.
The president, a kingmaker in today’s Republican Party, has also had mixed success in defining the Peach State’s landscape.
Charles S. Bullock III, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, pointed out in an email that Kemp defeated a Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate, David Perdue, by a significant margin in 2022.
“None of the candidates has distanced himself from Trump,” he added.
Collins and Carter performed best in many of Georgia’s rural counties, some of the state’s more conservative territory. Dooley, by contrast, dominated cities as well as the inner suburbs of Atlanta. Carter led counties on the coast, overlapping with the area he represents in Congress.
In Fulton County, home to Atlanta, a closure at a polling site in Sandy Springs due to nearby police activity led to it being kept open until after 11 p.m., delaying election results reporting from the county.
The winner of the runoff will face first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
The Cook Political Report has assessed that the contest leans toward Ossoff. So has Larry Sabato of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Polling of head-to-head matchups between Ossoff and the Republican hopefuls suggests the Democrat enjoys an advantage, though not necessarily a decisive one.
The Republican operative described Ossoff as “very vulnerable,” adding, “I think immigration will be a major topic in this race.”
A national survey for the NRSC this March found that immigration ranked as the top priority of low-propensity Trump voters. Swing voters ranked the cost of living, as well as the economy and jobs, ahead of immigration, which was their No. 3 issue.
GOP Primary Voters Weigh In
Georgia, which does not register voters by party, has open primaries.
Earlier in the day, Georgians weighed in at multiple voting sites.
Outside Restoration Church in Bethlehem, a Biblically named town in Barrow County, entrepreneur Will Coit said he voted for Dooley.
“I’m more of a moderate Republican,” he said, noting that he backs Kemp.
Coit said he regretted his 2024 presidential vote for Trump, citing the Iran War and what he sees as corruption in Washington.
Collins and Carter, he said, are “just too tied to Donald Trump.”
Coit said the economy is his key issue. He would like more federal support for small businesses like his own.
Near the entrance to the parking lot, Eric Craft was campaigning for county commissioner.
He and Caden Elinburg, who is on the Craft campaign, want Collins to win the nomination. That marks Craft’s first endorsement in the Senate primary race.
“He’s the most aligned with the America First agenda,” Elinburg said of Collins, citing the congressman’s work on the Laken Riley Act.
Elinburg said Dooley “seems like a nice guy” but expressed concern over the fact that he had not voted for years. Carter, he said, represented coastal Georgia, a place he sees as “not inclined with the rural area of Georgia.”
As cars rolled through Bethlehem on nearby Tom Miller Road, Elinburg summed up what he sees as the state’s values: “Faith, family and freedom.”
Local concerns and distrust of politicians dominated the conversation outside Bethlehem’s Nativity Lutheran Church.
Matt Morris’ top issue is the possible continuation of a 1% local sales tax. That’s something he opposes.
“I’m more worried about my taxes and how much money goes out” than other issues, he said, adding, “I don’t like politicians.”
Morris hopes the government will do more on immigration, particularly the ways illegal aliens are able to work in the United States.
While Collins and other candidates have touted their immigration bona fides, Morris was skeptical of their sincerity.
“Most of the politicians, when they speak on an issue, it’s only an issue of opportunity,” he said.
Louis Brown directed his criticisms at one party. He said he voted Republican because he does not consider Democrats honest.
