ATLANTA — Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff powered to a second term Tuesday night, defending his seat against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
Ossoff surged to an early lead after the polls closed and held it through the night, with a double digit percentage point advantage after all precincts had reported, according to the unofficial count by the Georgia secretary of state’s office.
Through much of the campaign, Collins had handed Ossoff a ready line of attack. Collins’ son-in-law, who lives on his property, shared a steady stream of white supremacist content on social media. Ossoff also seized on news reports about former staffers in Collins’ congressional office with ties to white supremacists.
Collins campaigned on his endorsement from President Donald Trump, and on legislation he introduced after nursing student Laken Riley was killed on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan national in 2024. The bill, the first Trump signed into law after he was sworn in for his second term, requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally and are arrested for or charged with certain crimes.
Holding the seat was crucial to Democrats’ effort to retake control of the U.S. Senate during an election cycle that featured widespread frustration with rising prices. With Trump’s popularity sagging in the polls and Republicans in control of the Senate and the House, GOP candidates became a target for voter anger.
In his victory speech, Ossoff said voters had reacted to the indifference of the wealthy to their financial struggles and had “rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence” of Trump’s presidency.