Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia, defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins, according to projections from CBS News, NBC News and Decision Desk HQ on Tuesday night. The call takes one of the GOP’s most-watched Senate pickup opportunities of the 2026 midterms off the board early in the evening.
NBC News noted that Ossoff is the only Democratic senator seeking reelection this year in a state President Donald Trump carried in 2024. Collins, a two-term congressman, won the Republican nomination after receiving Trump’s endorsement, NBC News reported.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection against Republican Rep. Mike Collins in the state of Georgia, CBS News projects. https://t.co/y20sxOWnGi pic.twitter.com/zICT3IXs8A
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 4, 2026
CBS News projected Ossoff the winner and said in a post on X that its executive director of elections and surveys broke down the Georgia numbers on air shortly after the call. NewsNation reported the Decision Desk HQ projection in its own post on X.
Where the count stood
When the race was called, NBC News’ results page showed Ossoff leading Collins 64.5% to 35.5%, with roughly 47% of the expected vote counted and more than two million ballots tallied. Those figures will move as more votes come in.
The breakdown by ballot type helps explain the early margin. According to NBC News, early in-person votes made up about 63% of the ballots counted so far, and Ossoff was winning that group 58% to 42%. Election Day ballots, which made up only about 2% of the count at that point, were breaking 62% to 38% for Collins, NBC News reported. That pattern points to a tighter final margin than the first returns show, even if it does not change the projected outcome.
What voters told exit pollsters
NBC News exit polling found that 50% of Georgia voters said they viewed Collins’ views as too extreme, compared with 35% who said the same about Ossoff. The same survey found Ossoff’s favorability at 58%, while 39% of voters said they had a favorable view of Collins, according to NBC News.
Ground game also appears to have mattered. NBC News’ exit poll found that 38% of voters said they had been contacted on behalf of the Ossoff campaign, compared with 27% who said the Collins campaign had reached them. For Republicans working the rest of tonight’s map, that gap in voter contact is likely to be one of the lessons drawn from Georgia.
The bigger picture
The Georgia result followed an earlier Democratic hold in Virginia, where Sen. Mark Warner won a fourth term over Republican Bert Mizusawa, a retired Army general, according to The Hill, citing Decision Desk HQ. Republicans entered the night holding a 53-47 Senate majority, and the races in states such as North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Texas are still being counted.
Georgia’s closely watched governor’s race between Republican Rick Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms had not been called as of this report. Daily Beltway will keep tracking results through the night.
Sources
- CBS News on X: Ossoff projected to win reelection
- CBS News on X: Georgia Senate numbers breakdown
- NewsNation on X: DDHQ projection
- NBC News: Georgia Senate results and exit polls
- The Hill: Warner wins fourth term
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: CBS News (@CBSNews) on X, Nov 3, 2026
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