Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff wins Georgia Senate re-election, fending off Mike Collins

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won re-election against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, NBC News projects, in Georgia after a race watched nationally and at times defined by sharp personal attacks.

Ossoff’s victory is a major victory for Democrats in one of the most divided states in the country — and one that both parties view as critical to control of the Senate early in this election cycle. Ossoff gained an early advantage in the race and held on, with a huge financial advantage and a sizable lead in most public polls.

His dominant position in a state where both parties have won in recent years has turned heads nationally, and excerpts of Ossoff’s campaign speeches have begun to make their way among national Democrats throughout 2026.

That sparked talk about Ossoff possibly running for president in 2028, although the Democratic senator said during a debate that he would serve a second full term.

Much of the race, including two head-to-head debates, focused on the national political atmosphere, with Ossoff linking Collins to President Donald Trump and his low approval ratings. Meanwhile, Collins often tried to turn to votes Ossoff received under former Democratic President Joe Biden, who left office in January 2025.

The economy and the increasingly high prices of consumer goods were also a focus of the Georgia Senate race. Ossoff repeatedly tried to get Collins to defend Trump’s tariff regime and the war in Iran.

Collins regularly tried to ignore questions about Trump’s economy, including tariffs, and instead tried to blame Biden-era policies for the high costs.

“This Bidenomics, this Green New Deal that my opponent voted for, that’s where this inflation is coming from,” Collins said during their first Senate debate.

The race was also filled with attacks of a more personal nature.

Ossoff focused on a series of social media posts in which Collins’ son-in-law promoted white nationalist posts, as well as posts by a former Collins staffer with avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

“You hired half of the Third Reich,” Ossoff said during a debate last month.

Collins said he does not support any form of racism or white nationalism.

“I don’t care where the source is, and I tell him,” Collins said of his son-in-law.

Collins also noted campaign contributions from Reid Hoffman, a billionaire whose name appeared in the Epstein files, to a pro-Ossoff super PAC. Ossoff countered that Collins voted to block full release of the files.

As Trump’s approval rating continued to decline, Republicans across the country began trying to distance themselves from the president, including rebranding their message or finding individual policies to start disagreeing with, including tariffs and the war in Iran, both of which are extremely unpopular.

Collins, however, was not one of them.

He defended the war in Iran, defending the administration’s reasoning that it is necessary because Iran cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

He said the rates were “fair” in the context of the state’s major ports and trade with China.

“The Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick concern me,” Collins said during a debate last month.