Rick Jackson won the Republican nomination for Georgia governor on June 16, 2026, defeating incumbent Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a runoff, according to The New York Times. Jackson, a health care executive, will face the Democratic nominee in the fall general election.

Jackson and Jones had advanced from the May 19 primary without either securing enough votes to win outright, per AP. Georgia requires a candidate to win an outright majority — more than 50 percent — to win a primary. When no one hits that mark, the top two candidates face off in a runoff.

Jones entered the runoff as the sitting lieutenant governor and backed by former President Donald Trump. Those are typically strong advantages. Jackson won anyway.

On the Senate side, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins — also endorsed by Trump — defeated former football coach Derek Dooley to win the Republican nomination for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, according to Politico. Collins will face Ossoff in November. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter was among the other candidates Collins beat in the May primary before Dooley emerged as the runoff opponent.

The two June 16 victories set Georgia's fall ballot on the state's highest-profile races. Jackson carries the Republican banner for governor. Collins will challenge Ossoff for Senate.

The broader context here matters. Ossoff was first elected in a special election runoff in January 2021 that flipped both Georgia Senate seats to the Democrats. He will now defend his seat in a state that has swung back and forth between the parties in recent elections. Collins is closely aligned with Trump and represents the kind of Republican candidate the former president has built support around in Georgia.

Jackson's win stands out more than Collins'. Defeating a sitting lieutenant governor who had the party's biggest endorsement is not typical in Georgia Republican politics. Jones had real advantages heading in. His loss invites questions about what exactly drove the outcome — whether Jackson proved to be a stronger candidate, had better on-the-ground organization, spent more money, or some combination of these factors. Both parties will be looking closely at the general election terrain ahead.