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Georgia GOP Runoff Picks Ossoff's Challenger Today. Senate Control Is at Stake.

Resist Now 3 min read

Georgia’s GOP Runoff Picks the Republican Who Faces Ossoff in November

Georgia Republicans are voting today, June 16, 2026, to settle a contested Senate primary runoff between U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley. The winner faces Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in the November general election, a race both parties have flagged as one of the most competitive Senate contests of the cycle.

Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats. They can lose up to three of those seats and still retain control of the chamber, with Vice President JD Vance casting tiebreaking votes. A win in Georgia would give the party additional cushion as it defends seats in Alaska, Maine, Ohio, and North Carolina.

41% Share of the May 19 Republican primary vote that Rep. Mike Collins received, finishing first in a five-candidate field. PBS NewsHour / AP

Collins built that lead by running up large margins in small, rural counties across the state, including communities north of the Atlanta metro. Dooley took a narrower geographic path, winning only 14 of Georgia’s 159 counties. Those counties, however, include five of the six most populous: Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and Clayton. He received roughly 30% of the May vote.

The swing factor is the 25% of primary voters who backed third-place finisher Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter. Carter’s geographic base, concentrated in small rural and southeastern Georgia counties, overlaps far more closely with Collins than with Dooley. Carter and Collins are also both more closely associated with President Trump’s political movement. Dooley has said he did not vote in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections, a fact that has circulated in the runoff campaign.

Trump did not endorse either candidate before the primary, leaving the MAGA-aligned vote divided between Collins and Carter. Whether those Carter voters consolidate around Collins today, or stay home, is the central question of the runoff.

Beyond the Senate race, voters today are also selecting nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and several congressional and state legislative districts where no candidate cleared a majority on May 19.

What You Can Do Now

  1. If you are a Georgia voter, find your polling place today at mvp.sos.ga.gov. Polls are open. Bring your Georgia ID. Your participation in a primary runoff directly shapes who appears on the November ballot.

  2. Call Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office at (404) 656-2881 if you encounter voting problems, long lines, or equipment failures at your precinct. Report the location, time, and what happened. Election Day complaints are documented and can affect post-election audits.

  3. Contact Sen. Jon Ossoff’s office at (202) 224-3521 to tell him you support his work and are watching the November race. Senators facing competitive races pay close attention to constituent engagement volume during the primary season.

  4. Check November registration deadlines now. Georgia’s voter registration deadline is typically 29 days before the general election. Verify your registration is current at mvp.sos.ga.gov so you are not blocked from voting in November when the Senate seat is decided.

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