Democrat Jon Ossoff holds Georgia Senate seat, beating Trump-backed Mike Collins

Ossoff keeps his seat

Jon Ossoff has won re-election to the US Senate from Georgia, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ that were reported by Bloomberg and later by NBC, CBS and CNN. He beat Republican Mike Collins, a sitting congressman who had the backing of President Donald Trump. The vote took place on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, during the midterm elections. Georgia went to Trump in 2024 by two percentage points, which makes Ossoff the only Democratic senator in office defending a seat in a state Trump carried that year.

A race that tilted his way

Early in the campaign the contest was seen as close, but polls later showed Ossoff ahead. According to CNN analysis, the Cook Political Report gradually moved its rating of the seat from a toss-up toward a more favourable one for him. Trump called Ossoff a weak, arrogant and hate-filled radical left senator, although Ossoff counts himself among the moderates in his party. Ossoff responded by accusing the 80-year-old president of senile rambling. During the campaign he focused his attacks on corruption, government transparency and the economic policies and tariffs of Trump's administration.

Midterm stakes

The midterms decided all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. Both chambers are currently controlled by Trump's Republicans. Democrats would need to win a net four additional Senate seats to reach a majority of 51. Ossoff's race was among the first Senate contests to be decided, and Democrats had already held a Senate seat in Virginia.

Turnout and fundraising

Official figures showed 2,000,452 people had already cast their votes in Georgia before election day, along with 97,382 mail ballots that had been received and accepted. The early vote compares with 1,640,652 voters at the same point four years earlier. Ossoff raised 136.6 million dollars in the campaign, the second-highest total among Democratic candidates, behind James Talarico, who is running for the Senate in Texas and raised over 146.3 million dollars.

2026 early vote2,000,452

Same point four years earlier1,640,652

2026 early vote

2000452 voters

Same point four years earlier

1640652 voters

Data from the article text

A rising Democrat

Ossoff, who was born in Atlanta in 1987, is 39 years old and the youngest senator in Washington. He is also the first Jewish senator from Georgia. Before entering politics he worked with the civil rights figure John Lewis and ran an investigative documentary production company focused on corruption and human rights abuses. He lost a 2017 House race but won the January 2021 runoff against Senator David Perdue. Barack Obama campaigned with him in Atlanta before the midterms and joined him on stage. Ossoff has said he has no interest in running for president, yet many in his party already see him as a possible 2028 contender.