Collins got a late-breaking endorsement from President Donald Trump in the GOP Senate runoff election.
Rep. Mike Collins, who had a late-breaking endorsement from President Donald Trump in the GOP Senate runoff election in Georgia, won against former college football coach Derek Dooley who had been endorsed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Collins is now set to take on incumbent Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff in the general election. Collins clinched around 55.7 percent of the vote while Dooley had 44.3 percent as of 9 pm eastern time. The GOP currently holds a majority of 53 to 47 in the Senate, and that could change in the GOP’s favor if Ossoff is unseated by Collins.
On Sunday, just a couple days before the election runoff, Trump endorsed Collins in a Truth Social post saying, “Mike has to beat a Republican Opponent before he gets to Ossoff. I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person.”
“Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!” Trump added.
Collins has been a staunch ally to the president and is also the author of the Laken Riley Act, which requires ICE to detain illegal immigrants if they are convicted of crimes such as theft and burglary. For the GOP, Geogia is seen as a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the Senate.