'Hammer Down!' Trump-backed favorite wins Georgia Republican Senate runoff

Republican voters in Georgia have showed up to the polls to officially agree with the president's recommendation.

More than 700,000 votes decided the Georgia Republican Senate runoff on Tuesday, with the victory going to the Trump-endorsed favorite.

'Now it's time to get to work.'

Sitting U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) received a detailed endorsement from President Trump just two days before the election, when he called Collins a "Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning," in a post on Truth Social.

Collins won the runoff with about 56% of the vote against fellow Republican Derek Dooley — a former football coach for the University of Tennessee Volunteers — despite Dooley outperforming Collins in the counties surrounding Atlanta, including Fulton County, where the capital city is located.

Collins' victory was by nearly the same margin that separated the two during the May primary. At that time Collins finished with nearly 41% of the vote, while Dooley had about 30%, according to CBS News. This time, Dooley finished 11 points behind Collins again, garnering nearly 45% in the head-to-head vote, per The Hill.

RELATED: Early red flag for GOP? Democrats rack up massive Q1 fundraising hauls

Collins has long been considered the favorite in the election as a MAGA-style Republican and led polls ahead of the primary by an average of 11.5 points. However, polls had him with just a two-point advantage over Dooley ahead of the runoff election in June.

Collins now heads to the November general election against Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff. Ossoff went unopposed in the Democratic primary, having held his office since 2021.

Collins reacted to his victory with a post on X, saying he is "honored" to be the Republican nominee.

"Now it's time to get to work, defeat Jon Ossoff, and take this seat back for the people of this state. Hammer Down!" Collins wrote.

RELATED: 'Friend' of President Trump advances to Georgia Republican Senate primary runoff

Jason Allen/Getty Images

Trump had previously endorsed Collins ahead of the primary, as well, calling Collins his "friend" while adding that he likes him "a lot."

On Sunday, the president assured voters that Collins would work hard to "Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE," and more.

Collins reaffirmed his immigration stance in a post on runoff Election Day, stating that "America wasn't built by people who chose the easy path. It was built by patriots who worked hard, took risks, and never gave up."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!