Politics

Trump’s Last-Minute Senate Endorsement Won in Georgia but His Governor Pick Lost

By Mike Harper · June 17, 2026

Trump endorsed Mike Collins two days before the vote. Collins won. Trump’s preferred candidate for governor lost. Georgia gave the president exactly half of what he wanted Tuesday night.

Rep. Mike Collins defeated former football coach Derek Dooley 55% to 45% in the Republican Senate runoff, earning the right to face Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in one of the most consequential Senate races of 2026. Collins ran as an unapologetic MAGA candidate who authored the Laken Riley Act — the first bill Trump signed in his second term. His pitch was simple: he is a fighter who has been with Trump from the beginning.

Dooley had the backing of outgoing Governor Brian Kemp, who campaigned aggressively for his candidate and argued Republicans needed a political outsider to beat Ossoff. Trump’s endorsement, posted on Truth Social on Saturday, may have been the margin. Collins trailed in internal polls the week before. He won by 10 points.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse ‘MAGA’ Mike Collins,” Trump had written. Collins credited the endorsement in his victory speech.

The governor’s race went the other direction. Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson defeated Trump’s preferred candidate despite the president’s support, continuing a pattern that has now repeated in Iowa and Georgia — Trump’s endorsement dominates Senate and congressional primaries but has failed twice this cycle in gubernatorial races where voters appear to weigh executive experience differently than legislative loyalty.

The Collins-Ossoff general election will be among the most expensive and closely watched races in November. Georgia is one of only two states where Democrats are defending a Senate seat in a state Trump carried in 2024 — Michigan is the other. Republicans need to flip Democratic seats to expand their majority. Democrats need to hold both to have any path to retaking the chamber.

Collins made his pitch to the general election audience Tuesday night.

“We all know what the mission is — put a Republican in that seat and get rid of Jon Ossoff in November.”

Ossoff has been preparing for this race for months while Republicans fought each other. He has significant fundraising advantages from national Democratic donors. Collins will counter with Trump’s full backing and a state Trump won by 2 points in 2024.

Georgia decides a lot in November. It just decided who gets to compete.