Trump's Georgia Picks Split: Senate Candidate Wins, Governor Pick Loses
Donald Trump saw mixed results in Georgia's Republican primaries as his Senate-endorsed candidate won, but his gubernatorial choice lost.
Georgia Republicans delivered a mixed verdict on Donald Trump's endorsements in the state's primary elections Tuesday, backing his preferred candidate for the U.S. Senate while rejecting his choice for governor.
The results come as the former president's influence is being tested in this year's midterm campaigns, with four states and the District of Columbia holding primaries.
In the closely watched U.S. Senate race, Republican Mike Collins, a second-term congressman and self-described "MAGA warrior," secured victory. He will now face Senator Jon Ossoff, the sole Democratic incumbent in the race, in November. Collins has echoed Trump's unsubstantiated claims of a rigged 2020 election in Georgia.
However, the race for governor saw a different outcome. Healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson, who spent significantly from his personal fortune, defeated Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Trump's endorsed candidate. Jackson will challenge Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in the general election.
Notably, Trump's endorsed candidates in other primary nights have often received public acknowledgments from the victors. In Georgia, however, the president was conspicuously absent from Republicans' victory remarks. Despite endorsing Jones, Trump did not travel to the state to campaign with him. Jackson, a political newcomer with substantial personal wealth, had drawn comparisons to Trump during his campaign but did not directly invoke the former president as frequently on election night.
Following the results, Trump took to social media to congratulate Jackson, stating that the candidate "very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won." This endorsement came after Jackson's victory over the president's preferred candidate.
The mixed results in Georgia follow a trend where many of Trump's favored candidates have generally succeeded in earlier primaries this spring. The former president faces another significant electoral test in Oklahoma in August, where his chosen candidate will compete in a Republican primary runoff.
The outcome of the midterm elections in November will be crucial in determining control of Congress for the remaining two years of Trump's potential second term.
This article was written by AI based on publicly available news reporting. Original reporting by the linked source.