Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff cruised to re-election on Tuesday, securing a seat Republicans once viewed as a major target but largely abandoned by the end of the campaign.
The Associated Press called the race shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Ossoff decisively defeated Republican Mike Collins in a bruising contest shaped by questions about Collins’s personal conduct and his ties to individuals who had expressed white supremacist views.
With roughly 40 percent of the vote counted, Ossoff held an enormous 40-point lead.
The result delivered Republicans a painful setback in a state Donald Trump carried only two years ago, closing off a prime chance to expand their Senate majority.
Ossoff’s strong performance could also benefit Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who campaigned alongside him as she sought the Georgia governorship.
The senator’s rapid victory offered an ominous signal for Republicans hoping to contain early signs of a Democratic wave. As votes continued to be counted, Democratic candidates were threatening to flip Republican House seats in Kentucky, Indiana and Florida.
A sluggish economy, rising prices and voter frustration with the president further complicated Collins’s campaign, which was vastly outspent.
Senator Jon Ossoff easily won re-election on Tuesday night, defeating Republican Mike Collins
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, center, joined by former President Barack Obama and Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff, leave the stage after a rally ahead of the general election
Collins, a Republican congressman and trucking company owner who won Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary, faced growing scrutiny over his controversial social media activity and the conduct of people in his political and family circles
Ossoff turned his 2026 campaign into a platform for national prominence, and his convincing re-election is likely to revive speculation about a possible 2028 presidential bid.
Throughout the fall campaign, he treated the president as nearly as much of an adversary as Collins.
At an August town hall with Senator Mark Kelly, Ossoff called Trump a “draft-dodging crook president.”
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Days earlier at an Atlanta rally, he said there was something uniquely despicable about deceiving a nation into war, an apparent reference to the Iran conflict. Trump hit back by calling Ossoff “Pee-wee Herman.”
Ossoff had raised nearly $125 million by the end of September, compared with $5.8 million for Collins.
That made Ossoff the leading Senate fundraiser in the country, with nearly all of his contributions below $100.
Although he insisted he had “zero interest in running for president,” his victory is certain to intensify speculation about 2028.
During their October 9 debate, Ossoff called Collins “the bigot congressman” and accused him of having “hired half the Third Reich” for his congressional office.
He also pointed to a 2024 video Collins had reshared from Ole Miss that showed white students making monkey noises at a Black woman. Collins’s caption read: “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
Ossoff said that if civil rights leader John Lewis were marching today, Collins would be wielding a billy club. When asked what he had told his son-in-law, Collins began by saying, “That’s my family,” before adding that he condemned racism, antisemitism and hate.
Trump carried Georgia by slightly more than two percentage points in 2024.
But Ossoff established a substantial polling advantage throughout the fall, prompting national Republicans to view the contest as increasingly unwinnable.
Collins, a Republican congressman and trucking company owner who had Trump’s backing in the GOP primary, faced mounting questions about his own controversial social media activity and the conduct of people within his political and family circles.
His son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, came under scrutiny over Nazi imagery and other online material reported by CNN and The Washington Post.
Former Collins staffer Preston Parra also posted images of a swastika and himself wearing what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan robes. Separately, a former chief of staff was replaced after reports emerged about his participation in a group chat that included far-right figures Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer.
Collins said he condemned racism and antisemitism.
Ossoff made the controversy a central theme of his campaign, confronting Collins during the debate over the people in his political orbit.
