Democrats retain crucial Georgia seat as Jon Ossoff defeats Trump-backed challenger
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff secured another term representing Georgia, defeating Republican challenger Mike Collins, a US representative endorsed by President Donald Trump, according to media projections on Tuesday.
The result gives Democrats a significant victory in a fiercely contested battleground state that Trump narrowly won in the 2024 presidential election by a margin of two percentage points.
By holding the Georgia seat, Democrats have avoided a major setback in their campaign to overturn the Republican majority in the Senate, keeping their hopes of taking control of the chamber alive.
The senator, widely viewed as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, raised $126 million more than Collins during the campaign.
Collins, meanwhile, benefited from $18 million in outside spending after emerging from a three-way Republican primary and subsequent runoff.
Trump had endorsed Collins over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who had the backing of outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
Republicans entered Tuesday’s elections with a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber.
Georgia was among the seats Democrats had to defend to have a realistic chance of achieving that goal.
Their path also depended on retaining a seat in Michigan and defeating Republican incumbents in Maine and North Carolina, while making further gains in states Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024, including Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas.
A Democratic Senate majority would give the party greater influence over legislation and the confirmation of senior government appointments, while making it harder for Trump to advance his agenda during the remainder of his presidency.
