Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Wednesday that ousting Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff will be "the fight of our lifetime to maintain the Senate," warning that even with President Donald Trump's planned Georgia rallies, Republicans face a difficult contest against a well-funded incumbent in what he called "a 50-50 state."

McCormick, who sits on the House Armed Services and Oversight committees, appeared on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" hours after Rep. Mike Collins won Tuesday's Republican Senate runoff over former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, setting up a November showdown with Ossoff.

Trump endorsed Collins days before the runoff.

McCormick described Ossoff as a polished, well-funded incumbent with significant political skills but criticized his voting record.

"His voting record is all wrong, but he is smooth, he's intelligent, he's well-spoken, and he's well-funded," McCormick said, adding that "we're going to have to have all hands on deck" to flip the seat.

He described Georgia as a majority-minority electorate and framed the race as central to Republican hopes of holding the Senate.

The congressman also weighed in on the governor's race, where billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson defeated Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Tuesday's Republican runoff.

McCormick said "the statistics favored Jackson once the initial primary was over," pointing to Attorney General Chris Carr's endorsement and the bloc of voters who had backed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Raffensperger drew about 15% of the May 19 primary vote and Carr about 12%, and Carr endorsed Jackson on May 27.

McCormick said he was surprised by the result given the endorsements Jones received from both Trump and Kemp, but argued either Republican would have been stronger than Democrat nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor.

"She was a horrible mayor, terribly flawed candidate," McCormick said. "I'm glad that we're going against her because Georgia's future is at stake." Bottoms secured the Democrat nomination outright in May with 56% of the vote.

Jackson, founder of Jackson Healthcare, dominated the airwaves with more than $50 million in television advertising from his campaign and allied groups heading into the runoff, according to AdImpact data cited by CBS News.

He will face Bottoms on Nov. 3 to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp.

McCormick said he is "ultimately happy with the results" and praised Jones despite his runoff loss. "I wish Burt Jones nothing but the best," he said. "He's been a great lieutenant governor."

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