Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state, reaffirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a legislator 45 years ago to reinstate the death penalty in Ohio.

DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions during his time as governor, pointed to data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.

“For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said at a news conference.

“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” he said. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

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As he made his case, DeWine brought out charts and graphs showing the decline in both the number of death sentences handed down by courts and the quantity of executions being carried out. The data also showed the exceedingly long wait times as legal appeals play out for inmates on death row.

The governor said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to be executed, as they sometimes die by natural causes or by suicide before they can be executed.

“Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed,” he said.

“In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,” he added.

The last 10 people to be executed in Ohio had been on death row between 14 and 32 years, he said. Since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine, 56 people who received the death sentence have been executed and 41 died by natural causes or suicide while on death row. Another 89 death sentences were overturned due to “judicial action” such as legal errors.

DeWine emphasized the years of pain for victims’ loved ones due to the delays and the impact on the mental health of state employees who work on execution teams.

UTAH DEATH ROW INMATE WITH DEMENTIA DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES 3 MONTHS AFTER EXECUTION WAS HALTED

“I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,” DeWine said. “The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.”

The governor, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term in the 2026 election, said he felt compelled to share his thoughts now after 50 years of experience with the death penalty issue, including as a Greene County prosecutor, a member of the U.S. House and Senate and as Ohio’s attorney general.

However, he said his outright opposition to the death penalty has become solidified in the past year.

DeWine urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue, although Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he would oppose such an effort. Other supporters of capital punishment have argued that Ohio’s yearslong execution pause has denied justice to victims’ families and weakened the deterrent effect of death sentences.

DeWine has not authorized an execution since taking office seven years ago, citing, on numerous occasions, pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states to resolve that issue. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states resolve that issue.

The governor has said he expects no more executions during the remainder of his term. Delaying executions has left Ohio with 30 scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The state has not put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, before DeWine took office.

“The most important way to protect the public is to lock up violent criminals and to keep them out of society,” DeWine said. “That is a proven way of saving lives and protecting our citizens. Our money and energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society.”

Currently, 27 states allow the death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C., do not, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Since 2019, including that year, three states have abolished capital punishment, while five states now authorize nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method amid ongoing controversy over lethal injection protocols.

At the federal level, Trump has pushed to expand executions. During his first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, which was more than any president in modern history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A top Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) official has been accused of helping funnel more than $1.2 million in donor funds to a confidential informant who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization — a source prosecutors say was also the official’s secret romantic partner.

The details were revealed in a superseding indictment filed June 2 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the SPLC, which has faced mounting scrutiny over allegations that it funded individuals tied to extremist groups it publicly opposed.

According to the document, the director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project was in a secret romantic relationship with a paid field source who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization known as the National Alliance at the direction of SPLC. 

The SPLC director reportedly shared a home with the source and allegedly used a fake company to funnel charitable funds to the partner. A significant portion of the money reportedly ended up in a shared bank account used to fund their life together.

NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS

Based on details laid out in the superseding indictment, the individual was identified only as the “person who would become Director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project.” The official reportedly conducted the financial transactions between 2015 and 2021.

According to congressional and SPLC documents, the director at that time was Heidi L. Beirich, an extremism researcher who served in the role from 2012 to 2019.

The SPLC declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

Prosecutors allege that a fake shell company created by the SPLC, known as “Tech Writers,” was used to funnel donor money directly to the official’s romantic partner.

“The SPLC actively led donors to believe that their donations would be used to ‘dismantle’ violent extremist groups,” the indictment stated. “However, the SPLC hid from donors the fact that a portion of their donated funds was being secretly used to support extremist groups and to fund their violent, racist, and extremist activities.”

Investigators reportedly traced roughly $140,000 in donor funds directly from the SPLC’s main operating account through the Tech Writers shell company and ultimately into the couple’s shared personal bank account.

Prosecutors said those funds accounted for roughly two-thirds of the money held in the couple’s joint accounts and were used to pay everyday household and living expenses.  

At-large D.C. Council member Robert White Jr. won the Democratic primary Tuesday for Eleanor Holmes Norton’s longtime non-voting congressional seat, putting him on track to become the district’s first new member of Congress since 1991.

The rare open-seat contest for D.C.’s delegate post came after Norton, 88, announced she would not seek another term following 18 terms in Congress. The Democratic nominee will advance to the November general election in heavily Democratic Washington, where the party’s nominee is heavily favored against Republican and third-party challengers.

D.C.’s delegate can introduce legislation, serve on committees and advocate for the district on Capitol Hill, but the role does not include a final vote on the House floor. The race comes as Washington continues its long-running fight over statehood, home rule and federal control of the nation’s capital.

The primary race was held under D.C.’s new ranked-choice voting system, but White was able to secure the nomination.

White has served as an at-large member of the D.C. Council since 2016 and previously worked in Norton’s congressional office as legislative counsel. He entered the race after dropping a possible mayoral bid, arguing the district needed a more aggressive advocate in Congress as federal pressure on D.C. intensified.

Norton was first elected in 1990 and took office in 1991, becoming the district’s nonvoting delegate and one of D.C.’s most recognizable political figures. Her retirement closes an 18-term tenure spanning roughly 35-years, defined by fights over statehood, home rule and full congressional representation for the capital.

For many D.C. voters, Norton has been the only congressional delegate they have ever known. Her decision to step aside after 18 terms opened the first truly competitive race for the seat in decades and set off a scramble among local Democrats seeking to inherit one of the district’s most symbolic political posts.

White will advance to the November general election, where the Democratic nominee will be heavily favored in overwhelmingly Democratic Washington, D.C.

Republican Denise Rosado is running unopposed for the GOP nomination, while at least one third-party candidate, Kymone Freeman, is also seeking the nonvoting delegate seat.

Socialist Washington, D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George holds a lead in her bid to replace outgoing mayor Muriel Bowser as midnight passes on the East Coast and the ballots continue to be counted throughout the night.

The Associated Press reports that as of 12 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, George is the leader with 52.6% of the vote after 66% of the votes had been counted. The next closest candidate, Kenyan R. McDuffie, sits at 36.8%.

The nation’s capital has been at the center of the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on crime during his second term and he sent the National Guard into the district last year, which proponents have argued directly correlates to plummeting violent crime numbers.

Trump has suggested that he’d order another federal takeover of Washington D.C. if the “crazy socialist” mayoral candidate was elected.

LUIGI MANGIONE SUPPORTER WORKING FOR FAR-LEFT DC MAYORAL CANDIDATE LIKENED TO MAMDANI

“I wouldn’t like it — and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” Trump said when asked by reporters how he’d respond if a self-described Democratic socialist D.C. council member were to win her bid.

“We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses,” Trump said on Thursday during a press briefing from the White House.

George called Trump’s recent threat to enact a second takeover as an “attack on democracy itself.”

DC GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT STARES DOWN DEATH PENALTY IN FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

George, who has become the Democratic frontrunner, leads a race that will likely decide the winner of the general race in a city where roughly 75% of voters are registered Democrats.

Washington, D.C. is using ranked-choice voting for the first time, which could delay the certification of an official winner.

Voters in Washington, D.C. were also voting in the Democratic primary to determine their next non-voting U.S. Delegate following the retirement of Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Shortly after midnight, the Associated Press called the race for the winner, At-Large Council member Robert White. 

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report

Former Judge Everett Wess has won the Democratic Senate nomination in solidly red Alabama, in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year.

Wess defeated small business owner Dakarai Larriett in the Democratic Senate runoff, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday night.

Wess and Larriett finished first and second in last month’s primary, in the four-candidate field. But since no one topped 50% of the vote, Wess and Larriett advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Wess will be considered the clear underdog in the general election against the Republican nominee. Rep. Barry Moore, who was backed by President Donald Trump, defeated former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson in the GOP nomination runoff election Tuesday.

Other than former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones’ 2017 special election victory, it’s been over three decades since a Democrat has won a Senate election in Alabama.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Tuberville, a former Auburn University head football coach, is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election to the Senate.

Trump-endorsed former Oklahoma state Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Bixby, and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond advanced to the August 25 runoff in the Sooner State’s Republican gubernatorial primary, defeating a slew of other candidates vying to replace term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Stitt — recently the top Republican at the National Governors Association — was term limited.

Trump called Mazzei a “MAGA warrior” who “will never let you down,” throwing the already crowded contest into further uncertainty.

Until that point, Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Mazzei were locked in a tight race with businessman Chip Keating and former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Tishomingo.

THE BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS THIS MONTH THAT YOU NEED TO WATCH

Trump noted he “won big” in Oklahoma — which, along with West Virginia, is one of only two states with no blue counties in election results.

Mazzei is running on top issues, including eliminating state property taxes, protecting state lands from foreign purchasers, increasing the state’s literacy rate, and cutting waste and abuse from government.

In the latter regard, Stitt appointed Mazzei as his state budget director for part of his term.

Some critics targeted Mazzei for hiring former Nixon campaign figure and Trump ally Roger Stone as a political consultant during his campaign.

Stone, one of the most prolific conservative consultants of the 20th century, famously had his Fort Lauderdale home raided in the middle of the night by the FBI while CNN was waiting and filming, sparking national uproar.

“Roger Stone is one of many political advisers and teammates that we have going back months and months and months,” Mazzei told Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate.

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“And, of course, it’s helpful to have someone on your team that’s aware of what’s going on in Washington, D.C. And the aspects of a Trump agenda and how they fit with an Oklahoma agenda.”

Drummond is running on his tough-on-crime record as attorney general, immigration enforcement efforts, career as a fighter pilot and ties to Trump similar to those touted by Mazzei.

“When his nation called, Captain Gentner Drummond answered with courage. Leading the first U.S. combat mission of the Gulf War, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “extraordinary achievement.” By the end of Operation Desert Storm, Capt. Drummond was one of the most highly decorated Oklahomans of the war,” a statement on his campaign website reads.

Drummond highlighted his efforts fighting “the Biden administration’s radical overreach, including failures on immigration” and policies permitting biological boys in girls’ sports.

McCall ran on a platform of “family, faith and moral leadership,” and burnished his state legislature credentials and record.

He wants to abolish both the state income tax and property tax, and put forward an economically conservative plan of action.

Keating, who also served in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, noted on his campaign website he is the only former law enforcement officer running for governor.

Keating pushed a public safety-first platform targeting trafficking, open borders and Antifa, whom he described as “radical domestic terrorists.”

He wasn’t on the ballot, but President Donald Trump is a winner in the Republican Senate runoff election in Alabama, as the candidate he endorsed captured the GOP nomination.

Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper, in Tuesday’s Republican showdown for the GOP nomination in solidly red Alabama, the Associated Press reports.

Moore and Hudson were the top two finishers in last month’s Republican primary, but with no candidate topping 50% of the vote, they both advanced to the runoff.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Moore, who was also endorsed by Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, will now be considered the clear frontrunner in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election to the Senate.

The congressman, who founded a waste hauling company and later served as a state lawmaker before first winning election to the U.S. House in 2020, was one of the first politicians to endorse Trump in 2015 when the president first ran for the White House.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Moore, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in the southern portion of southeastern state, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Hudson, running as an outsider, edged out state Attorney General Steve Marshall to advance to the runoff.

Besides being a combat veteran, Hudson has served as a sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, small business owner and current head of a nonprofit that trains law enforcement in taking out human traffickers.

Hudson was endorsed by then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Tim Sheehy, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC, and conservative activists and media star Riley Gaines.

But Hudson fell short against Moore, who will face off in November against either Dakarai Larriett, a petcare business owner, or attorney and former judge Everett Wess.

ATLANTA, Ga. — President Donald Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to boost Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to victory Tuesday night in the ballot-box showdown for the southeastern battleground state’s Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Jones was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the GOP runoff election for Georgia governor, the Associated Press reports, in the race to succeed term-limited conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Jackson, who shelled out over $100 million of his own money on his bid, will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jackson was boosted in the final stretch ahead of the runoff election by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Jackson, who launched his gubernatorial campaign in February and who broke records by dishing out his own money on behalf of his campaign, told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he’ll “put in whatever is necessary” to win the general election.

Throughout his campaign, Jackson has said that Trump inspired him to run.

“I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital last month.

And he’s repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,” he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.

Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters a few months ago, but thanks to an avalanche of ads, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college became well known in the Peach State.

And Jackson spotlighted his outsider credentials, saying that voters could “see somebody that’s actually like Trump, not just endorsed. And from that standpoint, I think having an outsider is what our people want.”

Cruz joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.”

Jones, on the eve of the Cruz visit, took aim at Jackson.

“He keeps on bringing in these out-of-state senators, and I would much rather have the president’s endorsement,” he said. “He’s having to go out of state to get his support. We’re keeping all our stuff in state.”

And Jones repeatedly questioned his rival’s support for the president, pointing to Jackson’s past donations to Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans as evidence that he was out of step with the MAGA wing of the party.

“He’s been dishonest about who he is. He’s been dishonest about who he’s supported in the background,” Jones charged. “He’s actually, you know, portraying himself as something that he’s not.”

Jackson pushed back, saying the attacks on him were “just lies.”

Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Because no candidate topped 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the runoff.

Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, an oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before winning election in 2022 as lieutenant governor. A major Trump supporter, he was endorsed by the president last August.

“He and I have a long standing relationship — friendship — and I’ve always been a big supporter of his, and he’s a very big supporter of mine, as well,” Jones said last month in a Fox News Digital interview as he pointed to Trump.

And he repeatedly showcased the president’s endorsement during the primary and runoff campaigns.

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Kemp made a last-minute endorsement on Sunday, backing Jones. And at an event Monday morning, Kemp explained that his mission is “to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November and you know, that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”

“When you think about the direction of the state, the great things that we’ve been able to do, I think he’s best suited to move the state forward,” Kemp said. And he warned of the “consequences of not winning, like we’ll be going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we just cannot afford to do that.”

While he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump’s immense clout over the GOP was facing another key test in Georgia.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Deep in Trump country, a Republican vying for a seat in the Senate is wondering why his possible future colleagues can’t pass a key voter ID and citizenship verification bill. 

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., cruised to a primary victory Tuesday night in the Sooner State, where he told Fox News Digital in an interview that the one thing he hears from voters constantly is whether Congress will pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. 

“They’re saying we need to work on, you know, the SAVE Act,” Hern said ahead of primary Election Day. “I mean, this is time and time again.” 

EXCLUSIVE: COLLINS PITS RECORD BUILT IN MAINE POTATO FIELDS AGAINST PLATNER’S ‘ANGRY RHETORIC’

But the legislation has been stuck in the Senate, where all Democrats have vowed to block it. A cohort of Republicans have voted against the bill in various forms, too.

“This is something I’m not real sure why Republican senators are not supporting,” Hern said. “I understand why Democrats don’t support it. They don’t support anything that protects America.”

Hern has served five terms in the House, where he’s moved up the chain into the fourth-highest role in House GOP leadership as House Republican Policy chair. He also ran for Speaker of the House when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted. 

His decision to leave the House and seek a seat in the Senate came after President Donald Trump nominated fellow Oklahoman, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to lead the DHS.

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Since jumping into the race earlier this year, Hern has amassed a bevy of endorsements from senators and Trump, who lauded the lawmaker as being “strongly supported by the fiercest MAGA Warriors in Oklahoma, and the most Highly Respected Leaders in the United States Senate!”

And Hern knows that Oklahoma is Trump country, noting that voters there “love the president. They love the fact that I support the president and I work with the president.” 

Hern likely won’t face strong headwinds in November against one of a half dozen Democratic candidates seeking the nomination in the Sooner State, given that Trump has won the state — and all 77 of its counties — three times.

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That doesn’t mean he intends to rest on his laurels until November. Hern, who grew up without indoor plumbing, said he knows the value of work and preparation. It’s what landed him his own McDonald’s franchise empire in Oklahoma, where he owned 24 restaurants — his past life in business also earned him the nickname “McCongressman.”

“I just respect the idea of work. I think working hard gives you a chance to compete with anybody,” Hern said. “And so, same thing with the Senate race. I came out strong, set a tone from day one.”

“The president endorsed me in the first 48 hours because of the work I’ve done over the last eight years,” he continued. “And I think it goes back to that common word of work and working hard.” 

And if successful in November, Hern isn’t shutting down the option of seeking a spot in Senate GOP leadership.

Hern said that throughout his business career he would tell anyone that “if you wait till something comes available, and you start working hard, it’s too late because there are other people like me that have started out in the proverbial parking lot.” 

“We’ve got people on third base who think they’re ready to be in leadership, and I’m running right past them, and they say, ‘Who’s this guy?’ And it’s a guy like me that’s just been working hard, positioning, building relationships,” Hern said. “And I think that’s important going forward, and we’ll see what comes open.”

JACKSON, GA – Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who is running as a MAGA champion and strong supporter of President Donald Trump, has won a competitive and combustible battle for the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia that went into overtime.

The Trump-backed Collins on Tuesday defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in the Republican runoff election, the Associated Press reports, and will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November’s election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in this autumn’s midterm elections.

Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election and are heavily targeting the first-term senator.

Collins, a two-term federal lawmaker who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which is located between Atlanta and Augusta, is the son of the late Rep. Mac Collins, and is the founder and co-owner, along with his wife, of a trucking company.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

He and Dooley, a lawyer, a former University of Tennessee football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, were the top two finishers in a crowded field of candidates that also included Rep. Buddy Carter. But since no one topped 50% in last month’s primary, Collins and Dooley advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

While Collins showcased his MAGA credentials and support for the president, Trump remained neutral in the Georgia primary and runoff elections for Senate until Saturday night.

“It’s an honor to have that endorsement. It just shows that he has confidence that we know how to win this race, we know we’re in the lead in this thing,” Collins told Fox News Digital on Sunday, hours after landing Trump’s endorsement.

Asked if Trump’s endorsement in Georgia came too late to make a difference, Collins said, “I don’t think President Trump ever is too late. He has this impeccable ability of putting his thumb right on the scale at the right time with whatever he wants to do.”

Dooley, meanwhile, was strongly backed by lifelong friend and popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited. Kemp and his wife, Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, regularly appeared with Dooley on the campaign trail and the governor’s top political advisor was a senior consultant for Dooley’s Senate bid.

Dooley, who ran as an outsider, said in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff that the president’s backing of his rival “doesn’t change how I feel.”

“I’m honored to have Governor Kemp’s endorsement. I certainly would have been honored to have the President’s endorsement. But the most important endorsement that I’m fighting for is the people of Georgia,” he emphasized.

Dooley emphasized his outsider image and he targeted Collins as a political insider.

Dooley told Fox News Digital voters “are fed up with what’s going on in Congress. They’re fed up with the careerism, the corruption, the inaction. And it’s time we get sent a different kind of leader up there to change business as usual in D.C.”

Collins criticized Dooley for a lack of political experience and for living outside of Georgia for much of his adult life.

“Not having a record is not gonna win this thing. But having a records of results will,” Collins told supporters on the eve of the runoff. 

Both candidates had some political baggage.

The House Ethics Committee looked into Collins over allegations he paid an intern in a district office who had a romantic relationship with his congressional chief of staff but who did not actually perform any work. Collins denied any wrongdoing and kept the staffer on his Senate campaign.

But the staffer was later fired by Collins after taking to social media on behalf of the campaign to mock the wife of a Dooley campaign advisor who attempted suicide after accusing Matt Lauer of rape. The social media post was deleted and Collins apologized, calling the tweet “despicable and unauthorized.”

Dooley, over the past week, was reportedly accused of being part of a “pay-to-play” scandal involving brother Daniel Dooley and the governor. Dooley and Kemp have denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats in the legislature requested an independent investigation.

While the Republicans have been battling for their party’s nomination over the past year, Ossoff has built a powerful war chest that will give him a major fundraising advantage as the general election gets underway.

“I know how to win this race. I look forward to getting the governor’s endorsement. I look forward to getting his help in this thing. I look forward to getting Derrick Dooley’s help in this thing,” Collins said when asked by Fox Digital if he could unite Republican voters in the general election. 

Collins emphasized that “at the end of the day, we’re all Republicans, and we’re on one mission, and that is to put a Republican in that seat and get somebody that represents…the state of Georgia.”

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.