Rep. Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley have advanced to a runoff election for Georgia’s Republican Senate nomination.
The winner will face Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has amassed an eight-figure campaign war chest and leads all Republican candidates in general election polling despite President Donald Trump carrying Georgia in the 2024 election.
Analysts projected that Collins and Dooley would advance to the June 16 runoff for a spot in November’s general election. With about 85% of the vote counted, Collins had 40.9%, while Dooley had 29.1%. Rep. Buddy Carter was next with 25.8%, followed by two other candidates.
“Thank you, Georgia. Love y’all. 28 more days of putting the hammer down!” Collins wrote Tuesday night in a post on X.
Trump has yet to endorse a candidate in the GOP field, but Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited and cannot seek reelection, endorsed Dooley, a former football coach at the University of Tennessee. His father, Vince Dooley, was a longtime football coach at the University of Georgia.
