Democrats hold Georgia Senate seat as Jon Ossoff wins reelection

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat up remained in the hands of Democrats Tuesday night when U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff was reelected to a second term in what was once known as the world’s greatest deliberative body.

Ossoff defeated U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in one of the nation’s most watched Senate races and a seat that was seen as a must-hold for the national Democratic Party.

Full election results here

Ossoff’s victory followed a campaign of bitter personal insults between both candidates. After Collins won a GOP Senate primary runoff in June, Ossoff’s campaign launched a broadside of allegations, accusing the Republican congressman of being a “bigot” and “a white nationalist.”

In their October U.S. Senate debate hosted by Atlanta News First and broadcast statewide on all Gray Media Georgia stations, Ossoff continued his attacks, again accusing Collins of being a “bigot,” a “Trump puppet” and of promoting neo-Nazi content online.

Ossoff even said Collins has staffed his congressional office “with half of the Third Reich.”

For his part, Collins aligned himself with President Donald Trump, and called Ossoff a “trust fund kid who has never had a job in his life” and a “radical.” Collins also tied Ossoff to Hollywood and other out of state donors, and said the senator cared more about “hating Donald Trump” more than he cares about Georgia.

Ossoff has frequently been mentioned as a possible 2028 White House candidate, but has said publicly he has no plans to see the Oval Office in two years.

National Republicans tried in vain to recruit outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to challenge Ossoff, and had once targeted the Democratic senator’s seat as a turnover. Kemp declined to run, instead endorsing college friend - and first-time candidate - Derek Dooley, who fell short in the GOP senate primary.

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