The Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Georgia is heading to a June 16 runoff. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) has advanced to the runoff, though it remains unclear who he will face.

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and former college football coach Derek Dooley are vying for the second spot in the runoff.

A handful of Republicans have sought the nomination as the GOP targets a Senate seat flip in Georgia. With Ossoff the sole Democrat running for reelection in a state President Trump won in 2024, the race has been seen as a key pickup opportunity. However, a messy primary and an inability to coalesce behind a candidate have complicated their path forward.

Ossoff, who was unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, has served in the Senate since 2021 after delivering Democrats one of two runoff victories in Georgia that secured their majority in the upper chamber. A formidable fundraiser, the 39-year-old has amassed a significant war chest to fight back against an inevitable GOP onslaught and improve his outlook despite the state’s rightward shift during the last election.

Two members of Congress, Collins (58) and Carter (68), had been gunning for the GOP nomination. Collins, owner of a trucking business, has represented Georgia in the House since 2023. Carter has been in Congress since 2015 after serving as mayor of Pooler, Georgia and in the Georgia General Assembly. Both men have strongly tied their campaigns to the president, though Mr. Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the primary.

Dooley (57), an attorney who coached football at the University of Tennessee, is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley and was endorsed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who passed up on a Senate bid himself. Dooley hasn’t embraced the president as readily as the other two men and has positioned himself as a political outsider.

Some outlets project Dooley will face Collins in the runoff. A runoff between the pair could set up a “proxy battle” between factions of the party aligned with President Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp.

The candidates’ lone Senate debate was dominated by squabbling between Collins and Carter, who attacked each other over ethics issues. Carter took shots at Collins regarding a probe into whether his office violated House rules by hiring an intern who had a relationship with a top Collins aide and allegedly did not work for the congressman.

Meanwhile, Collins has dubbed Carter a “career politician” and suggested he is hypocritical, claiming his career “has been littered with complaints, crooked land deals.” Carter faces scrutiny for land purchased near the site of a potential federal project that later fell through.

Georgia remains a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans, but the party could face increasing pressure to coalesce around one of the candidates. A pre-primary campaign report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows Ossoff has a war chest of $32.5 million, and GOP members acknowledge the first-term candidate is a formidable challenger.