Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia celebrated his reelection on Tuesday night with a blistering attack on President Donald Trump, as Democrats swept a string of Senate races on their way to a majority in the chamber.
"The American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame-duck President Donald J. Trump," Ossoff told supporters in Atlanta.
Ossoff, 39, defeated Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a two-term congressman backed by Trump, in a race the Associated Press called less than an hour after polls closed. He was the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, and Republicans had seen the seat as one of their best chances for a pickup. Ossoff, who first won the seat in a 2021 runoff against Republican David Perdue, outraised Collins throughout the campaign. Collins acknowledged that the results were not what his campaign had hoped for.
Early wins in Virginia and New Hampshire
Democrats' first major victory of the night came in Virginia, where Sen. Mark Warner won a fourth term, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa. In New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Pappas kept the open seat of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in Democratic hands by beating former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu, Decision Desk HQ projected.
Shortly afterward, NBC News projected five more Democratic wins. Cory Booker secured a third term in New Jersey and Chris Coons a third term in Delaware, while Ed Markey in Massachusetts and Jack Reed in Rhode Island were both reelected. In Illinois, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the seat of retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, defeating former state Republican Party chairman Don Tracy.
Pritzker wins a third term
Illinois voters also returned Gov. JB Pritzker to office for a third term, NBC News projected, in a rematch with Republican Darren Bailey, whom Pritzker had already beaten in 2022.
The holds gave Democrats a firm base for the night's bigger story. By early Wednesday the party had flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats, in North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, South Carolina, Kansas and Maine, according to Roll Call. A Democratic Senate will control the chamber's committees and can block Trump's judicial and cabinet nominees for the remaining two years of his term.
Videos: DRM News, NBC News via social media. Photo: John Ramspott via Wikimedia Commons (file)
