Derek Dooley Forces June 16 Georgia GOP Senate Runoff Against Mike Collins
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · May 20
Derek Dooley Forces June 16 Georgia GOP Senate Runoff Against Mike Collins
7 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · May 20
June 16 will decide Georgia’s Republican Senate nominee after Derek Dooley and Rep. Mike Collins both fell short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff; Rep. Buddy Carter was eliminated.
Collins, 58, now faces Dooley, 57—a first-time candidate and former football coach—in a contest shaped by loyalty to Donald Trump and Collins’ hard-line immigration message around the 2025 Lake Riley Act.
November’s winner will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, 39, whose first reelection bid is among the year’s most watched because he is the only Democratic senator defending a seat in a state Trump carried in 2024.
The Senate runoff lands alongside a broader Georgia primary shakeup: former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic governor nomination, while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire Rick Jackson advanced to the GOP governor runoff.
Why is Georgia's governor risking his political capital on a candidate with no prior electoral experience?
How is a famous coaching legacy shaping one of the nation's most critical Senate primary races?