Jon Ossoff defeats Mike Collins in highly contested Senate race

• The win keeps Ossoff, who first flipped the seat in 2021, in the Senate through 2032.
• Republicans had initially targeted Georgia as a potential pickup, but Ossoff built a polling and fundraising advantage heading into Election Day.

Catch up quick: Ossoff — widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender — ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Collins emerged from a contentious Republican contest.

• Collins, a trucking company owner who represents a red district between Atlanta and Augusta, ran as a Trump loyalist and made immigration enforcement a central focus of his campaign.
• Collins defeated former University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley, who was endorsed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, to advance to the general election.

Between the lines: Collins faced mounting scrutiny over an ethics investigation, alleged associations with white nationalists and inflammatory comments about political opponents.

• An ethics complaint filed late last year against Collins found substantial reason to believe the lawmaker misused government resources, including allegations that his office paid the girlfriend of his former chief of staff for work she did not do. Collins denied wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations as "bogus."
• Ossoff repeatedly criticized Collins' alleged ties to white nationalists, making it a recurring issue in debates and campaign appearances.
• Less than two weeks before Election Day, CNN reported Collins joked about pushing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi off an airplane and hanging other U.S. political leaders.