Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has thrown his support behind Republican Rep. Mike Collins in the U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, declaring that “the future of Georgia and the United States demands a different direction.” The endorsement, announced Sunday, comes less than two months before the November election and months after Kemp backed a different candidate in the GOP primary.
Kemp had previously supported Derek Dooley in the Republican primary, but Collins defeated Dooley 55% to 44% in the June runoff, as reported by CBS News Atlanta. In his endorsement, Kemp said he and Collins share a commitment to making Georgia a better place to live, work, and raise a family, adding that Collins has delivered results as a businessman and commonsense leader in Washington. Kemp said he is proud to endorse Collins for the U.S. Senate and that Collins will put Georgia first.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, co-founded a trucking company in the early 1990s and is the son of the late former U.S. Representative Mac Collins, according to Wikipedia. He was first elected to the House in 2022 and re-elected in 2024, and he previously served as chairman of a Georgia credit union and president of his local chamber of commerce before entering Congress. Collins said he was grateful for Kemp’s backing, adding that the governor has never been afraid of a tough fight. Collins had already secured President Trump’s endorsement during the primary runoff, per the same CBS Atlanta report.
Ossoff Campaign Calls the Timing Suspect
An Ossoff campaign spokesman pushed back on the endorsement, noting that Kemp worked hard to defeat Collins in the primary and waited until less than two months before Election Day to back him, per the CBS Atlanta report. Ossoff himself has escalated his rhetoric against his opponent, calling Collins a bigot surrounded by neo-nazis and white nationalists, the outlet reports.
Ossoff was first elected to the Senate in January 2021, defeating then-incumbent David Perdue with 50.61% of the vote in a runoff that secured the Democratic majority in a 50-50 Senate, according to Wikipedia. At the time, he became the youngest senator and Georgia’s first Jewish senator. That razor-thin history is part of why both parties see this rematch-style contest as competitive; the University of Virginia Center for Politics rates the race as likely Democrat, while the Cook Political Report rates it as leaning Democrat, per the CBS Atlanta report.
Democrats Rally in Athens, Republicans Consolidate
Sunday's endorsement landed the same day Ossoff held a joint rally with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in Athens. Bottoms secured the Democratic nomination for governor on May 19, 2026, winning over 56% of the primary vote, a milestone Hoodline covered in its piece on the tightening Georgia governor’s race. Bottoms served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later worked as a senior advisor in the Biden White House.
Ossoff has also said he plans to campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks before the midterm election, and Harris has announced she will come to Georgia for a fundraising event with the Fulton County Democratic Party. Harris is scheduled to headline the party's annual Fulton Forward Dinner in metro Atlanta on October 30, with tickets ranging from $200 to $25,000 to bolster grassroots infrastructure.
Kemp is term-limited under Article V, Section 1, Paragraph 1 of the Georgia Constitution, which restricts governors to two consecutive four-year terms, according to Ballotpedia. Term-limited Georgia governors must wait four years out of office before becoming eligible to run again. That constitutional deadline is part of why 2026 has become such a consequential year for Georgia's political map, with Kemp instead directing his energy toward down-ballot races like Collins' Senate bid.
Republicans Face Cross-Party Defections
Kemp's endorsement also arrives amid visible cracks in Republican unity. Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, along with Republican Mayors Scott James Matheson of Valdosta and Julie Smith of Tifton, endorsed Ossoff over Collins in August, Hoodline reported in its story on the GOP defections to Ossoff. Those defections have added pressure on Collins to consolidate moderate conservative voters while also overcoming Ossoff's fundraising lead.
Collins is running for the Senate while representing Georgia's 10th Congressional District. Ossoff and Collins are the two candidates in the Senate race.
Runoff Math Looms Over Both Campaigns
Both campaigns are focused on the November vote. The November vote will determine whether the contest is settled or continues.
Kemp has called for a different direction for Georgia in endorsing Collins. With early voting approaching and both parties deploying national surrogates, the endorsement fight underscores how tightly contested Georgia's Senate seat remains heading into the fall.
