Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins. The Associated Press declared Ossoff the winner at 7:55 p.m. EST, less than an hour after polls closed.

The result caps a race that played out heavily in Cobb County. Ossoff and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms held a rally at the Cobb Galleria Centre on Oct. 17 that drew more than 1,500 supporters, Atlanta News First reported. That event came one day after President Donald Trump campaigned in Dalton for Collins and Republican governor candidate Rick Jackson.

Nearly 235,000 Cobb County residents cast early ballots ahead of Election Day, according to East Cobb News. Statewide, more than 2.29 million Georgians voted early in person, surpassing the 2022 midterm record, the Georgia Secretary of State's office said.

What the win means

Ossoff's victory denies Republicans a seat party strategists had targeted as a top pickup opportunity. He was the only incumbent Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, according to the AP.

The win helped Democrats secure a Senate majority. Democrats flipped Senate seats in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina, and held battleground seats in Georgia and Michigan, the AP reported. Democrats won control of Congress in what the AP described as a widespread repudiation of Trump.

Speaking to supporters at a downtown Atlanta hotel, Ossoff called the results a rebuke of the president. "In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of a failed lame duck President Donald J. Trump," Ossoff said, according to the AP.

Collins acknowledged the loss in a brief speech. "The results may not be what we wanted tonight, but y'all, that's OK. I'm going to continue to serve," he said, according to the AP. Collins praised Trump, calling it an honor and privilege to serve under him.

How the race shaped up

Collins represented Georgia's 10th Congressional District since 2023. He won the Republican nomination in a June 16 runoff against former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, PBS reported. Trump endorsed Collins for the runoff, while Gov. Brian Kemp backed Dooley.

In Cobb County's May 19 Republican primary, Dooley drew 24,953 votes to Collins' 20,800, according to Cobb County election records. Collins won the statewide nomination despite trailing Dooley locally.

Ossoff held a massive fundraising edge. He raised about $137 million as of Oct. 14, compared to about $11 million for Collins, PBS reported. Republican groups supporting Collins pulled back spending in mid-October, the AP reported.

The candidates clashed over affordability, healthcare, the war in Iran and immigration, according to WABE's voter guide. Collins blamed "Biden-omics" and high taxes for rising costs. Ossoff pointed to Trump administration tariffs and promised to repeal them.

NPR reported that Collins struggled to move past scrutiny over ties to family members and former staffers who have espoused white nationalist and antisemitic views. Collins said he does not support any form of racism or white nationalism, NBC News reported.

Ossoff first won the seat in a January 2021 runoff, flipping it from Republican control. Official results are available through the Georgia Secretary of State's election results page.