Georgia Republicans are heading toward runoffs to choose nominees for governor and U.S. Senate after Tuesday’s primary failed to produce outright victors, setting up another stretch of intraparty competition before Republicans face their Democratic general-election opponents.
The GOP Senate runoff will feature former college football coach Derek Dooley and Rep. Mike Collins, after Rep. Buddy Carter was eliminated. The winner of that runoff will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most closely watched contests of the November midterm elections, with Georgia’s outcome potentially shaping control of Capitol Hill.
In the governor race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson moved into the Republican runoff, prolonging what the AP described as a bruising, expensive competition. Democratic former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won her party’s nomination on Tuesday.
With the June 16 runoff about a month away, Republicans in both races are set to spend additional time and money fighting among themselves before turning their attention to Democratic general-election campaigns. Ossoff is the only Democratic senator seeking reelection this year in Georgia, a state President Donald Trump won two years ago, leaving Ossoff as a target for Republicans defending their Senate majority.
Bottoms said Tuesday night that she wanted to ensure “every Georgian has an opportunity to succeed,” adding that, in her view, the fight would involve “stopping Donald Trump every time his policies hurt Georgia” and taking action to improve life across the state. She is seeking to become the first Democrat to win a Georgia governor’s race since 1998 and received a rare endorsement from former President Joe Biden after serving in his administration.
Ossoff, 39, had no opposition in Tuesday’s Democratic primary and is running for reelection for the first time since returning to the Senate. The AP reported he has positioned himself as a critic of political corruption and has targeted Trump and his sons’ business dealings that have enriched the first family.
On the Republican side, the Senate primary became, in part, a test of loyalty to Trump even as the president did not endorse a candidate. Collins, Dooley and Carter each described themselves as the best choice to advance Trump’s agenda in Washington, while Collins also faced criticism tied to a House ethics complaint that accuses him of using taxpayer funds to pay the girlfriend of a top aide for work she allegedly did not perform. The Office of Congressional Conduct, after an initial inquiry, referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee.
Carter pressed the ethics issue during a primary debate, asking Collins, “If taxpayers can’t trust you to properly steward their money, how can they trust you to be a U.S. senator?” Collins responded during the debate by telling Carter, “Buddy,” that he could tell from Carter’s voice that Carter knew how polling was going. Collins sponsored the Laken Riley Act, a 2025 law that requires immigrants to be detained when charged with certain crimes, a policy Republicans say could affect Ossoff because Ossoff initially voted against the measure before supporting it after Trump returned to the White House.
The AP reported that the governor campaign has involved heavy spending, with more than $125 million used on advertising in the Republican primary and more than $66 million spent by Jackson’s campaign, according to AdImpact. Democrats running for governor have spent about $4 million, while Jones has argued that his conservative record as a state senator and lieutenant governor, along with Trump’s endorsement, should make him the clear choice for Republican voters.
At his election night party, Jones said, “I think Georgia just spoke, y’all,” and added, “I could not leave this stage without thanking President Donald J. Trump.” Jackson, meanwhile, pitched himself as an outsider and attacked Jones as a political insider “working inside the system for his own benefit,” saying, “I cannot be bought, and I will not back down.”
Beyond the statewide contests, the primary produced other outcomes in Georgia’s House and judicial races. Democrat Jasmine Clark won her party’s nomination to succeed Rep. David Scott for a two-year term in the 13th Congressional District after Scott died in April while seeking another term. The AP reported Clark is a state representative, microbiologist and Emory University lecturer who has promised to prioritize science in Congress, and said her candidacy was supported by more than $2 million in outside spending by cryptocurrency interests while Clark said she did not court that backing.
In the 11th District northwest of Atlanta, Loudermilk announced his retirement and endorsed staffer Rob Adkerson, who advanced to a runoff against neurologist John Cowan. In the 10th District east of Atlanta, state Rep. Houston Gaines became the top Republican seeking to take the departing Collins’ seat, while Jim Kingston, son of longtime U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, emerged as the top Republican to take Carter’s seat in coastal Georgia’s 1st District. In northeast Georgia’s 9th District, three-term Republican incumbent Andrew Clyde beat primary challenges from former Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon and Hall County Commissioner Gregg Poole.
Judicial races also shaped the Tuesday results, with Democrats falling short in efforts to unseat incumbents. Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren won over Democrat-supported former state Sen. Jen Jordan, and Justice Charlie Bethel defeated Democrat-support Miracle Rankin, while a third justice, Ben Land, is unopposed for a six-year term. The state Judicial Qualifications Commission said in statements dated Sunday that Jordan and Rankin violated rules of judicial conduct by publicly endorsing each other and making statements supporting the restoration of abortion rights; the commission said those conclusions were reached after reviewing complaints about each candidate, and it said its findings were not final determinations.