Georgia Senate race 2026: Jon Ossoff vs. Mike Collins

The basics

Georgians vote Nov. 3. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff would be held Dec. 1, but with no Libertarian on the ballot a runoff is unlikely, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Ossoff ran unopposed in the May 19 Democratic primary. No Republican won a majority in the first round. After President Donald Trump endorsed Collins, he beat former football coach Derek Dooley in a June 16 runoff with 55.5% of the vote. Georgia is a swing state: it backed Joe Biden by 0.24 points in 2020 and Donald Trump by 2.2 points in 2024. Democrats hold both of its Senate seats, while Republicans hold every statewide executive office and both chambers of the Legislature, the Associated Press reported. Ossoff and Democratic governor nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms have campaigned together, including at an October rally with Barack Obama in Atlanta.

The candidates

Jon Ossoff (D) won his seat in a January 2021 runoff. He says he will serve a full six year term and will not run for president in 2028, GPB reported. Three Georgia Republicans have endorsed him, as has former Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

Mike Collins (R) has represented northeast Georgia's 10th District in the U.S. House since 2023 and sponsored the House version of the Laken Riley Act on detaining migrants charged with crimes. Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Collins in September, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has campaigned for him.

Where the race stands

A University of Georgia poll for the AJC (Oct. 7–15, 1,000 likely voters, ±3.1) had Ossoff 48%, Collins 40%. A YouGov poll (Sept. 15–18) had Ossoff 52%, Collins 42%. STTPN's average of three recent independent polls is Ossoff 51.3%, Collins 42.7%. Cook, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the race Likely Democratic.

Ossoff has a large financial edge: he had raised about $136.6 million through Oct. 14, compared with about $10.7 million for Collins, according to the FEC.

The issues

Cost of living

At the candidates' Oct. 13 Atlanta Press Club debate, Ossoff said he would repeal tariffs he blames for "record high" grocery prices and end the war in Iran, which he says has driven up diesel prices. Collins defended Trump's tariffs, saying they have helped Georgia farmers, blamed inflation on the Biden administration and said, "We're gonna continue down the road of energy independence."

Health care

Ossoff wants to repeal the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 tax and spending law. Collins called the Affordable Care Act a "disaster" and says he wants to lower health care costs.

Iran and immigration

Ossoff says Iran "still has its uranium, its drones, its missiles" and has pledged to end the war if Democrats win the Senate. Collins defends the war, saying, "Now we need to make sure that they don't have a bomb." Ossoff stands by his vote for the Laken Riley Act but says parts of it "were overbroad." Collins says the law has helped remove "over 20,000 illegal criminals."

Controversies

The debates have been personal. Ossoff asked Collins to stop his son-in-law, a far right social media personality who lives in Collins's home, from producing what Ossoff called "neo-Nazi propaganda" there. Collins pressed Ossoff to return donations from a Democratic megadonor named in the Epstein files. Ossoff has also run ads targeting Collins over the Epstein files. When panelists asked whether Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, Collins did not answer directly, GPB reported.

Collins has accused Ossoff of a sexist remark about a White House aide, Fox News reported.