Ossoff rakes in another $20M, building on fundraising advantage in race for Georgia Senate seat

(Georgia Recorder) – A race for a Georgia U.S. Senate seat that has now dwindled down to two candidates is shaping up to be an expensive one.

Congressman Mike Collins, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, became the Republican nominee last month and will face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the November election. Both campaigns sent out press releases Wednesday touting their fundraising hauls for the last quarter, but as of Wednesday afternoon, the candidates’ reports were not available on the Federal Election Commission’s website.

Ossoff, a Democrat who is running for a second term, has raised a total $81 million and is going into the next quarter with $42 million available to spend after raising $20 million in the last quarter, according to his campaign. The average contribution was just over $40 with nearly 90% of those being under $100.

Ossoff, who is the top political fundraiser in the country according to the FEC, is seen as a top GOP target because he is the only Democrat running in a state that Trump won in 2024.

“The Ossoff campaign is building unstoppable grassroots momentum to push back against Republican dark money, power our massive and winning coalition over the next four months, and resoundingly defeat Trump loyalist Mike Collins at the ballot box come November,” Ossoff’s campaign manager Ellen Foster said.

Collins, who won the Republican nomination in a June runoff against former football coach Derek Dooley, raised $2.1 million in this year’s second quarter, according to his campaign, and is headed into the next quarter with $2.2 million available.

Collins’ campaign boasted that the funds came from almost 16,000 donations from all 159 counties and averaged $19.05 per donation.

“Fundraising reports tell you a lot about who a candidate really answers to,” said Josh Siegel, campaign manager for Collins’s campaign. “There’s a reason Jon Ossoff’s biggest donors aren’t in Georgia. His California and New York donors know exactly what they’re funding: a senator who will push their socialist agenda in Washington. Mike Collins’ support comes from everyday Georgians because they know he will always put Georgia first.”

Aside from Ossoff’s massive fundraising advantage, a recent Fox News poll indicates Collins has an uphill battle ahead of the November election. Ossoff led Collins in that poll by 13 percentage points, with 56% of Georgia voters picking Ossoff over the 43% who picked Collins.

Republicans racked up a win with a recent Supreme Court decision striking down limits on how much political parties can spend on candidates. But it remains to be seen if Collins will benefit from that ruling.

Kennesaw State University political science professor Jason Shepherd, who previously chaired the Cobb County Republican Party, said voters may see more spending from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the state, but if they pull back spending and redirect it toward other states, it could be that they see better opportunities in those states.

“The challenger is at a disadvantage,” Shepherd said, referring to Collins. “He needs to raise enough to be competitive. It doesn’t necessarily have to match dollar for dollar, and if the polls tighten, both sides will have more or less unlimited access to funds if Georgia’s looked at as being truly up and competitive.”

But University of Georgia political scientist Trey Hood said that this is “Ossoff’s race to lose,” saying that while he predicted the race would be close, he sees it as leaning Democratic. The Cook Political Reportalso reported that while the race is considered competitive, Democrats have an advantage heading into November.

“I would give Ossoff an edge. Certainly it doesn’t mean that there’s no chance at all for Collins, but again, he’s got a lot to do to come from behind and overtake Ossoff, and I don’t know if that’s going to happen or not,” Hood said.