Polling shows Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) leading his competitors ahead of the Georgia Republican Senate primary.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th congressional district and owns his own trucking company, is up against Gov. Brian Kemp (R)-endorsed Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate, former University of Tennessee football coach, and lawyer and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), a pharmacist and longtime GOP lawmaker representing the state’s 1st congressional district. Republicans are vying to snag the seat of Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who was first elected in 2021 and has been dubbed the “most vulnerable” Democrat up for reelection.
A survey from Rasmussen Reports and sponsored by A Public Voice Inc. shows Collins leading among likely Georgia Republican primary voters at 34 percent, followed by Carter at 19 percent, and Dooley at 11 percent. Another 36 percent of poll respondents support other Senate candidates or are undecided.
“Groundhog Day has come and gone, but it’s another day of the same thing again,” said Collins’ campaign manager, Josh Siegel, in a statement following the survey’s release. “Derek Dooley continues to waste time and donor resources looking for his eleventh job in a state where he’s been a stranger for 25 years, while Mike Collins has spent 30 years building a successful trucking company, employing hundreds of Georgians, serving in Congress, delivering on promises, and putting good policy into law with two presidents from two different parties.”
“No other candidate can match Team Collins’ firepower, manpower, and enthusiasm. Georgia Republicans want Mike Collins to win; he will win, and any candidate delaying focusing on the general election is effectively an in-kind contribution to liberal Democrat Jon Ossoff at this point,” Siegel continued.
The survey found that 39 percent of Georgia GOP primary voters are looking for a Trump Republican in the Senate race, while 32 percent prefer a “traditional Republican” and 22 percent want a moderate Republican.
“Among those who say they’re looking for a Trump Republican candidate in the Senate, 40 percent would vote for Collins,” according to the poll report.
The Georgia Republican Senate primary election is on May 19. If any candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of votes, the top two contenders will compete in a run-off race before the winner challenges Ossoff in November.
According to the poll, Collins or Carter would beat Dooley in a runoff, although the margin would be much larger for Collins. If Collins or Carter compete in runoff, Collins is projected to lead by a 13-point margin, although a third of GOP voters say they are undecided in such a scenario.
The Rasmussen Reports survey was conducted with 1,022 Georgia GOP primary likely voters between Feb. 11-12, 2026. The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.
RealClear Polling averages for the 2026 Georgia Senate race so far also show Collins presenting the greatest challenge to Ossoff. Per RCP, Ossoff has a projected narrow 2.3-point lead over Collins, compared to a 3.6-point lead over Carter, and a 6-point lead over Dooley. The Cook Political Report has rated the race a “toss-up.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.