WASHINGTON (AP) – Georgia Republicans will finalize their picks in marquee races for U.S. Senate and governor in a state primary runoff election on Tuesday. Voters will also select nominees for several congressional and state legislative districts, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and a handful of other contests in which no candidate received a majority of the vote in the May 19 primary.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Ousting Ossoff would give Republicans more breathing room as they defend competitive seats in Alaska, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and elsewhere. Republicans can afford to lose up to three of their current 53 Senate seats and still maintain control of the chamber with Vice President JD Vance casting tiebreaking votes.
Collins was the top vote-getter in the May 19 primary among the field of five. He received about 41% of the vote by amassing sizable wins in smaller, more rural counties across the state, as well as in some larger counties north of the Atlanta area.
Dooley’s path to the runoff looked quite different. He carried only 14 of Georgia’s 159 counties, but they included five of the six most populous: Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb and Clayton. He also carried Clarke County, which includes the University of Georgia in Athens. Overall, he received about 30% of the primary vote.
U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter was the close third-place finisher. The 25% of voters who backed Carter in the primary could help either Collins or Dooley clinch the nomination.
Carter had a base of support that much more closely resembled Collins’ rather than Dooley’s. Carter performed best in the small, rural counties clustered in southeastern Georgia, which significantly overlaps with the 1st Congressional District he represents.
Carter and Collins are also more closely identified with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, whereas Dooley says he didn’t vote in the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections.
Trump did not endorse a candidate during the primary campaign, but he endorsed Collins on Sunday for the runoff. Outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Dooley, which likely helped him edge out Carter.
Trump did endorse in the competitive Republican primary for governor. His pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, was the top vote-getter in the primary, with about 38% of the vote, followed by healthcare executive Rick Jackson, with about 33%. Kemp endorsed Jones on Sunday.
Like Collins, Jones collected wins in small rural counties across the state. Jackson remained competitive by notching narrow wins in larger counties like Fulton County and some of the counties in the Atlanta suburbs.
Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in primary runoffs for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, state school superintendent, labor commissioner, public service commissioner, state Senate and state House.
Voters who cast a ballot in a partisan primary on May 19 may only vote in the runoff of the same party as they did in the primary. In other words, Democratic primary voters may not vote in a Republican primary runoff or vice versa. Registered voters who did not participate in a party primary on May 19 may vote in the runoff for either party.
As of May 28, there were about 8.1 million registered voters in Georgia.
In the May 19 primaries, about 934,000 votes were cast in the Republican primary for governor and about 913,000 in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.
Early in-person and mail ballots made up about 46% of the total vote in the May 19 primary.
As of Friday, about 119,000 Democratic and about 222,000 Republican primary runoff ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.
A sizable amount of results from pre-Election Day voting is released fairly early in the night before most in-person Election Day ballots are tabulated. About four out of every five counties release all or almost of their early in-person results in the first vote update of the night, while about two-thirds of counties release all or almost all of their mail voting results in the first update.
In the May 19 Republican primary for governor, the AP first reported results at 7:13 p.m. ET, or 13 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 3:13 a.m. ET, with more than 99.9% of total votes counted.
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
There is no automatic recount provision in Georgia, but a losing candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total vote. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
As of Tuesday, there will be 140 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.
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