Bond.az – A hardline Republican congressman and a former college football coach advanced to a runoff on Tuesday in Georgia’s U.S. Senate Republican primary, prolonging an intraparty battle to determine who will face Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in November.
U.S. Representative Mike Collins led former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley 40.5%-30% with 80% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. Their projected advance to a June 16 runoff eliminated a third contender, Representative Buddy Carter.
The eventual Republican nominee faces an uphill battle against Ossoff, a 39-year-old former media executive whose political fate could determine whether Democrats have a chance to take control of the Senate.
Collins, a 58-year-old two-term House member, positioned himself as the frontrunner by striking a brash persona akin to President Donald Trump and touting his role as sponsor of the Laken Riley Act.
Dooley, 57, a lawyer and former football coach, ran as an alternative to Washington politics with the endorsement of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Ossoff, the only Senate Democrat running for reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, has been polling ahead of both Collins and Dooley.
