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Ongoing story / Jon Ossoff

The 2026 Georgia Senate race: Jon Ossoff vs. Mike Collins

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won a second term in Georgia's 2026 Senate race, defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who had won a June runoff after President Donald Trump endorsed him.[1][2] Ossoff led in September polls,[3][4] and by the end of the month Republicans' hopes of winning the state were fading.[5] The two met in two heated debates in October, and Trump rallied Georgia Republicans on October 16.[6][7][8]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

Ossoff led in September polls,[3][4] and by the end of the month Republicans' hopes of winning the state were fading.[5] The two met in two heated debates in October, and Trump rallied Georgia Republicans on October 16.[6][7][8]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-05-05 (UTC): 9%, 18 of 201 tracked outlets (4 left, 4 center, 10 right)Week of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 197 tracked outlets (3 left, 1 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 200 tracked outlets (1 left, 1 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-06-15 (UTC): 6%, 13 of 234 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 9 right)Week of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): 3%, 19 of 559 tracked outlets (4 left, 8 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 562 tracked outlets (2 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): 6%, 28 of 464 tracked outlets (8 left, 12 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 480 tracked outlets (1 left, 8 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 3%, 13 of 476 tracked outlets (5 left, 7 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 6%, 28 of 479 tracked outlets (8 left, 16 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 9%, 41 of 476 tracked outlets (10 left, 20 center, 11 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 479 tracked outlets (1 left, 9 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 473 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 8%, 37 of 471 tracked outlets (12 left, 17 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 3 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (15 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 20261217837 of 4718%
Oct 26, 20260123 of 4731%
Oct 19, 202619010 of 4792%
Oct 12, 202610201141 of 4769%
Oct 5, 2026816428 of 4796%
Sep 28, 202657113 of 4763%
Sep 21, 20260134 of 4791%
Sep 7, 202618110 of 4802%
Aug 17, 2026812828 of 4646%
Jul 20, 20262327 of 5621%
Jul 13, 202648719 of 5593%
Jun 15, 202622913 of 2346%
Jun 8, 20261135 of 2003%
May 18, 20263148 of 1974%
May 5, 2025441018 of 2019%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Fox5 Atlanta

    Senator Ossoff's victory fuels 2028 presidential speculation

Background

Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, widely seen as the strongest potential challenger to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, said in May 2025 that he would not run.[9] Days later Rep. Buddy Carter became the first prominent Republican to enter the race.[10] No candidate won a majority in the May 2026 Republican primary, which sent Rep. Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley to a runoff,[11] and Collins won it after Trump endorsed him.[2]

Read the full background (3 more paragraphs)

Ossoff, who won his seat in a January 2021 runoff, built his campaign around attacks on Trump and a multimillion-dollar advertising push.[12] He and Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins began the cycle widely seen as their parties' most vulnerable senators.[13] In August, his remarks at an Atlanta rally about Trump's aide Natalie Harp drew criticism from conservatives and former Obama adviser David Axelrod and set off a feud with the White House.[14] White House officials called him a "cringeworthy" "theatre kid."[15] Former Vice President Kamala Harris planned to campaign with him at the end of October, though some Democrats had kept their distance from her.[16]

An AARP poll in July showed Ossoff 9 points ahead.[17] In September, a Quantus Insights poll conducted September 14-16 had him leading 48.2% to 44.4%, within the margin of error,[3] and reporting on a YouGov poll also put him ahead.[4] At the end of September, Republicans were shifting their focus away from Georgia and North Carolina to defend seats elsewhere.[5]

Ossoff and Collins met in two debates in October. The first, on October 8, quickly turned into an exchange of personal attacks over the economy, foreign policy and immigration.[6] In the second, on October 13, they clashed over the Jeffrey Epstein files and alleged connections to white nationalists.[7][18] Ossoff, who had been floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, committed to serving a full six-year term.[18] Trump scheduled a rally in Georgia for October 16 with the state's top Republican candidates.[19][8] Former President Barack Obama was set to campaign in Atlanta with Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor,[20] and a CNN review of Collins's past remarks found that he had joked about pushing Nancy Pelosi from a plane and suggested hanging US leaders.[21] Democrats' Senate Majority PAC pulled its advertising from the state in October, a sign of confidence in Ossoff.[22] CNN projected his reelection on November 3, defending a seat Republicans had once considered a top pickup opportunity.[1]

Supporting stories (22)
  1. Ossoff wins reelection in battleground Georgia
  2. Rep. Mike Collins wins GOP runoff in Georgia Senate race
  3. New poll shows GOP Rep. Mike Collins gaining on Ossoff in Georgia Senate race
  4. New poll reveals sudden split between top two Georgia races
  5. GOP doubts about Georgia and North Carolina have Republicans shifting focus in battle for Senate
  6. Fiery Georgia Senate debate gets personal: 4 takeaways
  7. Georgia Senate debate covers inflation, Epstein files and neo-Nazis
  8. Trump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground state
  9. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won’t run for US Senate seat in 2026 against Democrat Jon Ossoff
  10. Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter enters Senate race against Jon Ossoff
  11. Republicans send two to runoff in Georgia U.S. Senate race
  12. Ossoff fuels reelection campaign with attacks on Trump
  13. How Jon Ossoff and Susan Collins are turning a mundane part of their jobs into a reelection pitch
  14. Ossoff annoys Trump, White House, to Democratic delight and dismay
  15. White House officials slam ‘cringeworthy theatre kid’ Jon Ossoff after senator’s Trump dig
  16. Kamala Harris to campaign with Sen. Jon Ossoff as part of midterm campaign swing
  17. Trump hypes Mike Collins’ Senate campaign at Georgia rally
  18. Jon Ossoff’s rise to US Senate was meteoric – how high can he go?
  19. Trump to rally in Georgia this week to support Rep. Mike Collins for Senate
  20. Barack Obama To Join Keisha Lance Bottoms And Sen. Ossoff At Atlanta Rally
  21. KFile: Mike Collins joked about pushing Pelosi from a plane, suggested hanging US leaders
  22. Chuck Schumer-aligned PAC pulls funding from Georgia Senate race as Democrats grow more confident

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 27 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Ossoff wins reelection in battleground GeorgiaHeadline from The Hill · 40 outlets

October 2026

  1. Kamala Harris opens rally for Georgia Democrat with a brutal verbal stumbleHeadline from New York Post · 3 outlets
  2. KFile: Mike Collins joked about pushing Pelosi from a plane, suggested hanging US leadersHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 7 outlets
  3. Barack Obama To Join Keisha Lance Bottoms And Sen. Ossoff At Atlanta RallyHeadline from Black Enterprise · 4 outlets
  4. Georgia Senate debate covers inflation, Epstein files and neo-NazisHeadline from Courthouse News Service · 5 outlets
  5. Trump, Epstein and corruption allegations loom over Senate debates in Maine and GeorgiaHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 8 outlets
  6. Jon Ossoff’s rise to US Senate was meteoric – how high can he go?Headline from The Guardian · 15 outlets
  7. Chuck Schumer-aligned PAC pulls funding from Georgia Senate race as Democrats grow more confidentHeadline from BizPac Review · 3 outlets
  8. Trump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground stateHeadline from MyNorthwest · 17 outlets
  9. Trump to rally in Georgia this week to support Rep. Mike Collins for SenateHeadline from KTSM 9 News · 2 outlets
  10. Inside Georgia’s Senate race between Ossoff and CollinsHeadline from Crosscut · 5 outlets
  11. Fiery Georgia Senate debate gets personal: 4 takeawaysHeadline from The Hill · 18 outlets
  12. ‘Con man’ and ‘cowardly’: Personal insults fly in heated Michigan, Georgia Senate debatesHeadline from KVIA El Paso · 10 outlets
  13. How Jon Ossoff and Susan Collins are turning a mundane part of their jobs into a reelection pitchHeadline from MyNorthwest · 7 outlets

September 2026

  1. GOP doubts about Georgia and North Carolina have Republicans shifting focus in battle for SenateHeadline from MyNorthwest · 10 outlets
  2. New poll reveals sudden split between top two Georgia racesHeadline from Fox5 Atlanta · 2 outlets
  3. New poll shows GOP Rep. Mike Collins gaining on Ossoff in Georgia Senate raceHeadline from Just the News · 2 outlets
  4. Kamala Harris to campaign with Sen. Jon Ossoff as part of midterm campaign swingHeadline from KVIA El Paso · 10 outlets

August 2026

  1. White House officials slam ‘cringeworthy theatre kid’ Jon Ossoff after senator’s Trump digHeadline from New York Post · 3 outlets
  2. Ossoff annoys Trump, White House, to Democratic delight and dismayHeadline from The Hill · 29 outlets

July 2026

  1. Trump returns to Georgia with election claims, worrying some RepublicansHeadline from Richmond Times-Dispatch · 1 outlet
  2. Trump hypes Mike Collins’ Senate campaign at Georgia rallyHeadline from NBC News · 4 outlets
  3. Ossoff fuels reelection campaign with attacks on TrumpHeadline from Denver Gazette · 19 outlets

June 2026

  1. Rep. Mike Collins wins GOP runoff in Georgia Senate raceHeadline from NBC News · 17 outlets

May 2026

  1. Republicans send two to runoff in Georgia U.S. Senate raceHeadline from Valdosta Daily Times · 8 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →