The Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Georgia is heading to a June 16 runoff.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) has advanced to the runoff.

However, it’s unclear who Collins will face.

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and former college football coach Derek Dooley are vying for the second spot in the runoff.

CBS News has more:

A handful of Republicans have been seeking the nomination as the GOP eyes a chance at flipping a Senate seat in Georgia. With Ossoff being the sole Democrat seeking reelection in a state President Trump won in 2024, the race has been seen as a key pickup opportunity for Republicans. But a messy primary, and the inability to coalesce behind a candidate has complicated their path forward.

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Ossoff, who was unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, has been in the Senate since 2021 when he delivered Democrats one of two runoff victories in Georgia, which secured their majority in the upper chamber. A formidable fundraiser, the 39-year-old has amassed a significant warchest to fight back against an inevitable GOP onslaught and improve his outlook despite the state’s rightward shift during the last election.

Two members of Congress, Collins, 58, and Carter, 68, had been gunning for the GOP nomination. Collins, the owner of a trucking business, has represented Georgia in the House since 2023, while Carter has been in Congress since 2015, after serving as mayor of Pooler, Georgia and in the Georgia General Assembly. Both men have strongly tied their campaigns to the president, although Mr. Trump hasn’t endorsed a candidate in the primary.

Dooley, 57, was also seeking the nomination. An attorney who coached football at the University of Tennessee, Dooley is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley and was endorsed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who passed up on a Senate bid himself. Dooley hasn’t embraced the president as readily as the other two men, and has positioned himself as a political outsider.

Some outlets are projecting Dooley will face Collins in the runoff.

According to The Hill, a runoff between Collins and Dooley could set up a “proxy battle between the factions of the party aligned with President Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp.”

The Hill explained further:

The candidates’ lone Senate debate was dominated by squabbling between Collins and Carter, who attacked each other over various ethics issues. Carter has taken shots at Collins over a probe into whether his office violated House rules by hiring an intern who had a relationship with a top Collins aide and who allegedly didn’t do any work for the congressman.

Meanwhile, Collins has dubbed Carter a “career politician” and suggested he’s a hypocrite and that his career “been littered with complaints, crooked land deals.” Carter has received scrutiny for land he purchased near the site of a potential federal project that later fell through.

Georgia is seen as a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans, but the party could face increasing pressure to coalesce around one of the candidates. A pre-primary campaign report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows Ossoff has a whopping $32.5 million in the bank, and GOP members acknowledge the first-term candidate is a formidable challenger.

 

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