ATLANTA—Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff defeated Rep. Mike Collins, backed by President Donald Trump, in Georgia’s race for a seat in Congress’s upper chamber.

The Peach State has had solely Democratic representation since 2021, and Ossoff’s victory extended that for at least another two years until Sen. Raphael Warnock is up for reelection in 2028. Republican candidate Collins’s loss was a sharp—yet not completely unexpected—blow for the GOP.

Ossoff took the stage around 9:30 p.m. ET, Nov. 3, which was met with a deafening roar from the crowd. He immediately praised Georgia’s newly elected Democratic governor, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms, who prevailed over Republican billionaire Rick Jackson.

The reelected senator thanked his supporters, then took aim at Trump, calling him a “failed, lame-duck” president.

“If at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight’s results give you courage that the first light of God is on the horizon,” Ossoff said during a roughly 10-minute speech.

Ossoff reiterated a message he had repeated throughout his campaign, calling 2026’s midterms an opportunity not just for restoration but for reformation.

He said a crisis is still gripping the nation despite Democrats’ gains.

“Abroad, American credibility and leadership are in decay, and the world is rearming for global conflict, and at our grave peril, humanity is fast forgetting the terrible lessons of two world wars and the Holocaust,” Ossoff said.

Hundreds of attendees at Ossoff’s watch party in downtown Atlanta erupted as the senator’s victory was announced.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, a Democrat, was onstage at the watch party as the Senate race was called.

“I’m ready to work with Democrats in all positions across the state,” Dickens said.

Michelle Page and her husband Mark said at the watch party they had been confident about Ossoff’s victory.

They spent their Election Day as poll watchers, which went off without a hitch, they said.

“I think he does a really good job of balancing, helping Georgians, but also holding leadership accountable in the federal government,” Michelle said. “I think he’s also not afraid to reach across the aisle to try and get things solved.”

Michelle added that she would like to have “sanity, intelligence” back in the federal government.

Ossoff, who ran unopposed in his primary earlier this year, raised nearly $116 million throughout his reelection bid and spent about $105.8 million.

Collins raised $9.7 million and spent $9.2 million. He conceded to his opponent shortly after The Associated Press called Ossoff’s victory around 8 p.m. ET.

“Y'all, it’s been an honor, an honor and a privilege to serve under the leadership of the best president in my lifetime: that is President Donald J. Trump,” Collins said in his roughly six-minute speech. “It’s also been an honor and a privilege to serve the 10th District of Georgia.”

Although the results of Georgia’s Senate race did not favor Collins, he vowed to continue serving the state in whatever capacity he is able.

“God bless Georgia,” Collins said.

He did not mention Ossoff by name in his speech.

While Collins ran on a platform that promised to support Trump’s agenda, Ossoff made the opposite a focal point of his campaign.

The incumbent senator vowed to stand against Trump and Republicans in Congress.

During a rally on Oct. 28 with former President Barack Obama in Morrow, Georgia, Ossoff said the Trump administration was putting on a “spectacle of graft unprecedented in American history,” vowing to bring individuals involved in alleged widespread schemes before Congress to testify.

Jamie Carson, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, told The Epoch Times via email that Trump’s endorsement of Collins was useful to rally the Republican base.

But the president’s backing also had a tradeoff, Carson said, as the closer Collins tied himself to Trump, the more difficult it became for him to appeal to independents and dissatisfied Republican voters.

The latest polling ahead of Nov. 3’s results showed that trend, the professor said: “Trump [remained] quite popular among Republicans but [was] substantially underwater among Georgia voters overall, particularly independents.”

Ossoff frequently presented the 2026 midterms as a chance not just for restoration of Democrats but as an opportunity for reformation of the government.

The senator also vowed to expand Medicaid and increase affordable housing.

Often on the campaign trail, Ossoff described the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC as “the most destructive court decision in modern American history.”

The 5–4 ruling held that, under the First Amendment’s right to free speech, corporate funding of independent political broadcasts during elections cannot be restricted. Ossoff promised his supporters he would work to reverse that decision, even if it took a constitutional amendment.

Ossoff often accused Collins of having campaign staffers that were tied to white-nationalist groups.

During the rally with Obama, Ossoff said his opponent was surrounded by neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

Collins has repeatedly denied the accusations, addressing them during a debate with Ossoff in October.

“I condemn any sort of hate speech, anti-Semitism, hate of any kind,” Collins said. “It’s abhorrent and I’ve fired people when things happen.”

Maurice Wise Sr. requested the day off from long-haul truck driving to ensure he could cast his ballot for the incumbent senator and other Democratic candidates down the ballot. When asked why he voted for Ossoff, he said, “His honesty.”

“He seems to care about the people,” Wise said. “He knows that he works for us.”

The Dooly County voter gave some advice for Ossoff as well.

“Don’t sit up there and lie about things. Just go ahead and do what you need to do for the people, and then everybody will see about you,” Wise said. “Scratch our back, we'll scratch his back.”

In closing his victory speech, Ossoff condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations to apprehend and deport illegal aliens.

He vowed to work to ban corporate money from politics and guarantee healthcare for all U.S. citizens.

“Our task is to reawaken that great national spirit that defeated fascism and established social security, that put men on the moon, passed civil rights laws,” Ossoff said. “Tomorrow, we get back to work.”