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Trump’s Georgia Senate push
President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement in Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff put his influence at the center of the race as voters decided whether Rep. Mike Collins or former football coach Derek Dooley would face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
“Could Trump’s last-minute endorsement prevail in Georgia’s high-stakes Senate race”
Trump wrote, "It is my Great Honor to endorse \"MAGA\" Mike Collins, a Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning," as more than 450,000 Georgia voters had already cast ballots during early voting.
The Georgia contest is also framed as a test of Trump versus Gov. Brian Kemp, who endorsed Dooley and is term-limited, with the feud tied to Kemp’s refusal to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
In parallel, the runoffs decide Republican nominees for governor and secretary of state, with the Senate race described as one of the key contests that will determine who challenges Ossoff.
NBC News said Trump’s endorsement would be "put to the test in multiple Republican primaries Tuesday," with the Georgia Senate runoff among the races that will kick off major general election campaigns for Senate and governor in battleground Georgia.
Money vs MAGA in Georgia
In Georgia’s governor runoff, Trump’s endorsement for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is portrayed as competing with a large personal spending advantage from businessman Rick Jackson, with the AP describing the contest as "Money vs. MAGA in Georgia’s governor race."
The Associated Press reported that Jones had Trump’s backing and "around $25 million in self-funded loans," while Jackson "directly contributed four times that amount into his own campaign."
The AP also said Jones had loaned over $6 million to his campaign since the May 19 primary while Jackson contributed an additional $8.5 million, widening the funding gap between the two candidates.
At the same time, voters at a polling place in Griffin described personal familiarity as shaping choices, with Joann Colwell-Kinard, 82, saying she voted for both Jones and Collins because she believed they were "good, honest people."
The AP added that in-person Election Day voting in Georgia concluded at 7 p.m. ET, and that the first vote update in the May 19 Republican primary for governor came at 7:13 p.m. ET, with the last vote update at 3:13 a.m. ET and more than 99.9% of total votes counted.
Runoff results and what’s next
As Georgia polls closed in the GOP runoffs spotlighting Trump’s governor and Senate picks, the Associated Press laid out what voters were deciding across multiple jurisdictions, including Alabama, California, and the District of Columbia.
“Election live updates: Georgia polls close in GOP runoff spotlighting Trump’s governor and Senate picks What to know: - Alabama: With President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Rep”
For the District of Columbia, the AP said voters would be using ranked choice voting for the first time since they approved the switch in 2024, and it quoted Monica Evans, executive director of the D.C. Board of Elections, saying, "What you will not see election night will be any mail ballots we receive on Election Day."
Evans also warned that in the worst case scenario, "the first tabulations of the ranked choice ballots could be Sunday," as mail ballots arriving on Election Day could delay results.
In Georgia, the AP said Republicans were waging their latest fight over party identity in runoffs that decide nominees for governor and the U.S. Senate, with Trump backing Burt Jones for governor and later backing U.S. Rep. Mike Collins for Senate.
NBC News, meanwhile, described Tuesday’s primaries as the kickoff of major general election campaigns for Senate and governor in battleground Georgia, with the Georgia Senate runoff winner set to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
