WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff easily won a second term Tuesday, defeating GOP Rep. Mike Collins in what was once expected to be a highly competitive race.
Follow for live updates on the 2026 Midterm Elections
Ossoff was thought to be the most vulnerable incumbent Democrat heading into this cycle, but the combination of an anti-Trump national environment and a series of controversies surrounding Collins helped the 39-year-old cruise to victory.
Ossoff’s commanding performance, both at the polls and on the stump, has led to buzz about a potential 2028 presidential run — which he tried to tamp down during the campaign.
“Yes, I will,” Ossoff said during a debate last month when asked if he would commit to serving a full six-year Senate term. “I have zero interest in running for president. I’m running for Senate.”
Ossoff has kept a low profile in the Senate, focusing on issues like opioid prevention, veterans’ health, and online child safety.
More coverage of the 2026 midterm elections:
Collins, 59, gained fame by authoring the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2024 and which required mandatory detention for illegal immigrants charged or convicted of certain crimes such as burglary.
Ossoff voted in favor of the legislation, the first bill President Trump signed into law after returning to the White House last year.
Collins — whose staff’s occasionally inflammatory online posts and other stunts earned him the nickname “memer of Congress” — emerged from a five-man primary field, which included his House colleague Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in a June runoff.
Following his nomination, Collins grappled with a number of controversies — including his son-in-law’s posting of Nazi imagery on social media, his former digital director William Paul’s drunken anti-Semitic tirade toward Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), and two campaign staffers having links to an ex-Ku Klux Klan leader.
Collins denied holding racist views, but Ossoff seized on those controversies.
“Mike Collins is a known bigot under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars, widely known for his poor character and low integrity and unfit for any elected office in the United States,” the Democrat told supporters during a rally last month. “We’ll end his political career.”
The Republican’s office has been accused of improperly paying a former intern, who had a romantic relationship with the congressman’s then-chief of staff, $10,000 to work a no-show job between 2023 and 2024.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating the matter.
