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

The result landed fast in north Fulton County, where both candidates held election-night watch parties, according to WSB-TV. Early unofficial returns from the Secretary of State's dashboard showed Ossoff leading Collins 274,486 to 63,109 in Fulton County shortly after 7 p.m., the North Atlanta Star reported.

Ossoff was the only incumbent Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024, the AP reported. Republicans had targeted the seat as a top pickup opportunity. Ossoff held a large fundraising edge, raising about $137 million as of Oct. 14 compared to about $11 million for Collins, according to PBS. Republican groups pulled back spending in mid-October, the AP reported.

What the candidates said

Speaking to supporters in Atlanta, Ossoff cast the results as a rebuke of Trump. "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.

Local backdrop

The Senate race was on every ballot in Alpharetta and Milton, alongside the governor's race and the lieutenant governor contest between state Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat whose district includes portions of Alpharetta, and Republican Greg Dolezal, according to The Roundabout's voter guide.

Collins' embrace of Trump's false claims about the 2020 election was a factor for some local voters. At an Alpharetta farmers market in September, a lifelong Republican voter identified only as Lynn told GPB/NPR she had not ruled out voting for Ossoff because of Collins' positions on 2020. "It concerns me any time someone gets pulled into those ridiculous looking-back discussions," she said.

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; Gov. Brian Kemp backed Dooley.

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.

Collins authored the Laken Riley Act, the first law Trump signed in his second term. The law requires immigrants accused of certain crimes to be held in immigration detention, WABE reported. Ossoff voted for it.

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. He also continued to embrace Trump's false claims about widespread election fraud in 2020, NPR reported.

Democrats win Congress

Democrats won control of Congress in what the AP described as a widespread repudiation of Trump. The party 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. In the House, Democrats flipped more than two dozen districts.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Georgia governor's race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any state, the AP reported. Republican Rick Jackson, the Alpharetta-based founder of Jackson Healthcare, lost the race, according to 11Alive.

Voters can find official results through the Georgia Secretary of State's election results page.