ATLANTA — Primary election results have come in and Rep. Mike Collins and Derek Dooley will advance to a runoff for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
In a gaggle with Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco, Rep. Buddy Carter conceded the race to Collins, who had already advanced, and Dooley.
The runoff is scheduled for June 16.
The winner will face incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff in the November 3 general election.
[LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: Georgia primary election 2026]
Who are the candidates?
Rep. Mike Collins
Since 2023, Rep. Collins has represented Georgia’s 10th Congressional district, which is made up of a large portion of east Georgia between Atlanta and Augusta, including Athens, Jackson and Winder.
A former businessman, Collins began a trucking company in the 1990s. He has since served as Chairman of one of Georgia’s largest credit unions, saying he plans to focus on small business owners.
Throughout his campaign, Collins has highlighted his conservative voting record on Capitol Hill.
Collins was born and raised in Jackson, in the district he now represents.
He graduated from Georgia State University with a business degree. He and his wife, Leigh Ann, have three children and four grandchildren.
Derek Dooley
A former football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, Derek Dooley has positioned himself as a political outsider.
Dooley spent several years as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University and the University of Tennessee. He also spent several years coaching in the NFL, including with the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.
Governor Brian Kemp, who will leave the Georgia State Capitol after this election cycle, has thrown his support behind Dooley.
“I love this country, and I’m proud to be a Georgian. I’m running because Georgia needs new leadership in the U.S. Senate. Someone who is going to actually represent the people of our state, not themselves. Someone who is going to put you first,” Dooley wrote on his campaign website.
He and his wife, Allison, live in Clayton and have three children.
WHO WILL FACE JON OSSOFF?
President Donald Trump stayed on the sidelines of the Senate race, not endorsing a candidate.
Collins or Dooley will now take on Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who ran unopposed for the nomination.
Ossoff has represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate since 2021 and is now seeking reelection for his second term. He is currently the youngest incumbent U.S. Senator.
Ossoff released the following statement on Tuesday night:
“After Brian Kemp’s crushing refusal to run for Senate, Trump puppets Collins and Dooley have made themselves terminally inseparable from the toxic president. Now the failed congressman who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman and the failed coach who was only a coach because his daddy was a coach limp into a monthlong race-to-the-bottom that will surely leave both broke and unelectable. Meanwhile, the juggernaut Ossoff campaign will continue building insurmountable momentum to win decisively in November.”
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