The Associated Press called the race for Collins at 8:37 p.m. With 56% of the vote counted, Collins led with 55% of the vote to Dooley’s 45%.Collins entered the runoff with Trump’s endorsement and spent much of the race positioning himself as the unapologetic MAGA candidate in the campaign, arguing Republicans wanted a fighter closely aligned with the president and highlighting his work on immigration legislation, including the Laken Riley Act.
Dooley, meanwhile, had the backing of Kemp and much of the state’s Republican establishment, with the governor aggressively campaigning alongside him in the runoff’s final weeks.
The race drew national attention after Trump endorsed Collins over Dooley despite Dooley’s support from Kemp, creating a showdown between two of the most influential figures in Georgia Republican politics.
Still, some Republicans rejected the idea that the election represented a full-scale proxy war between Trump and Kemp given the two were aligned on the state governor’s race.
“People want to make this like a Trump versus Kemp war because that makes for good headlines, but I don’t think Georgia voters see it that way,” Republican strategist Ryan Mahoney told the Washington Examiner before the election. “They’re aligned on one race and they’re on different sides on the other end, and that’s fine.”
