Georgia runoff tests Trump’s influence in Senate and governor races

Voters cast ballots in Georgia and three other jurisdictions Tuesday in a runoff-heavy election day that put Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican electorate under a bright light. In Georgia, the stakes ran well beyond one ballot line: the state’s majority rule forces a runoff when no candidate gets at least 50% plus one, and that system sent some of the year’s most watched GOP contests back to voters.

The sharpest test came in the Republican Senate runoff, where Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins over former football coach Derek Dooley to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Ossoff, who took office on January 20, 2021, is seeking reelection to a term that ends on January 3, 2027. The matchup gave Georgia Republicans a chance to settle whether Trump’s late endorsement still moves enough primary voters in a state that has repeatedly defied him.

The governor’s race offered a second measure of that influence. Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones faced healthcare executive Rick Jackson, who has poured more than $100 million into his campaign. Jones and Jackson advanced from a crowded May 19 field, and the runoff became a referendum not just on money and name recognition, but on whether Trump’s preferred candidates can still dominate in a state where his earlier efforts, including his push against Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022 and an earlier Senate loss, fell short.

Georgia’s runoff slate was unusually large, with nine statewide runoffs triggered by crowded primaries. Republicans also chose nominees for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and school superintendent, while Democrats held runoff contests in some statewide races. By election day, early voting had already topped 128,000, and another 6,916 absentee ballots had been counted, bringing the pre-election total to 143,871.

Elsewhere, Alabama voters returned for primary runoffs to settle an open U.S. Senate race and other contests after no candidate won a majority in the May 19 primary. The state lets voters choose either a Democratic or Republican primary ballot in the runoff, and its voting-age population is about 3.8 million. Primary contests in Alabama’s Congressional Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7 were pushed to August 11 after the Supreme Court allowed use of a 2023 map previously found racially discriminatory.

Washington, D.C., also held primaries for mayor, U.S. Delegate and other offices. But Georgia remained the national bellwether: a runoff system, a Trump endorsement fight, and two high-profile races that showed where Republican loyalty is tightening, and where it is still up for grabs.