Collins, Dooley to face off in June runoff for U.S. Senate

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

Republican candidates for Georgia’s contentious U.S. Senate race will face off again in a June 16 runoff to determine November’s representative.

Neither U.S. Rep. Mike Collins nor former football coach Derek Dooley secured more than 50% of the vote needed to be elected. With 98% of votes reported, Collins had only 40.5%, followed by Dooley with 30.2%.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., only had 25.1% of the vote at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. Carter’s nomination appeared to split the vote in one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races in the country.

Republicans are vying for a candidate to compete against incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is seeking his second term.

Dooley has focused his campaign on greater access to healthcare and lower prescription drug prices.

“We need a lot of changes in our healthcare system as it relates to transparency, as it relates to putting patients and doctors first, and as it relates to innovation because the system we’re in now is not working,” Dooley said.

Dooley has expressed varying support for Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, often referred to as the “heartbeat law,” which bans abortions once fetal heart activity is detected. Dooley previously said the law is “not the way I would have written it” at the Atlanta Press Club’s candidate debate in April.

“That’s the law of the land, it’s been that way for six years and I just don’t think the U.S. Senate and federal government should weigh in on it,” Dooley said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who endorsed Dooley in the Republican primary, signed the law in 2019.

Rep. Mike Collins, who was first elected in 2022, has advocated for bans on congressional stock trading. He pointed to the Restore Trust in Congress Act, a bipartisan bill he sponsored that would ban members of Congress from insider trading.

“Let’s ban that and get on with what we’re supposed to be doing up there and that is getting this place back on track and getting the federal government under control,” Collins said.

He also called for more middle-class tax cuts, cutting business regulations and regulating AI data centers nationwide.

“We’ve got to get the government off the backs of the hard working men and women in this country,” Collins said. “Just make life more affordable.”

Republican candidates in Georgia’s 11th district will also head to a runoff in June. A slew of candidates ran to replace Rep. Barry Loudermilk, who announced his retirement. John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, and Rob Adkerson will head to the runoff.

With 99% of votes counted on Wednesday morning, Cowan obtained 42.6% of the vote among seven candidates who filed for the race.

Cowan called for increased price transparency, targeting pharmacy benefit managers and expanding health savings accounts.

“When patients have power and the government steps back, prices come down,” Cowan wrote in a statement to The Center Square.

Cowan also called for greater transparency and for solutions to address the United States’ budget crisis. He said he would support legislation that caps annual deficits at 3% of GDP.

“Any serious cap needs automatic enforcement and a narrow supermajority carve-out for genuine emergencies, paired with a ban on congressional stock trading so the American people know their representatives are tightening belts right alongside them,” Cowan said.

Three Democratic primary elections are also advancing to runoffs. Districts 1, 7 and 12 will also head to a primary election in June. Joyce Griggs and Amanda Hollowell will fight to determine who faces off against Republican Jim Kingston in District 1, a seat vacated by Rep. Buddy Carter.

Hollowell told The Center Square that Carter had not been responsive to the community’s needs for several years.

“He was selective about who he was responding to via email,” Hollowell said. “Then, he became a super MAGA Trumper, so we really knew that he wasn’t listening to you.”

Tony Kozycki, a criminal defense lawyer and Case Norton will advance to a June runoff election to determine who will face off against Republican Rich McCormick in the 7th congressional district.

In District 12, Ceretta Smith and Traci George will compete in a runoff to determine who will face Republican Rick Allen in November.

A runoff was not needed in some primaries.

U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller, who won a special election to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 14th District seat, easily won a spot in the general election without a runoff. Fuller had seven challengers in the race.

State Rep. Jasmine Clark won the Democratic nomination in the 13th Congressional District, defeating five opponents. The seat was held by the late David Scott. Clark will face Republican Jonathan Chavez in November

In Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Andrew Clyde fended off a challenge from Sam Couvillon and Joel Gregory Poole.

Houston Gaines, a Trump-endorsed Republican in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, overcame competition from Ryan Millsap, a film producer, and Jeffrey Baker, a small business owner to avoid a runoff.

Chris Harden won the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s 11th Congressional District.