First-term Senator Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat running for re-election next year, has already raised $11 million in the first quarter of 2025. It’s “the most ever raised by an incumbent in the first quarter of an off-year,” explains Politico, the first outlet to see the totals. Ossoff is no stranger to raising money. During a one-month period prior to a January 2021 runoff election, he became the highest-funded Senate candidate in US history, raising $106.7 million. But will money be enough for this endangered Democrat to keep his seat?
The Ossoff Plan: Change Nothing?
Ossoff, like many other Democratic politicians, believes the 2026 midterms will see his party come out on top. Why? Because some think President Donald Trump is driving the country off a cliff and pushing voters away from the GOP. “The energy and opposition, I believe, is building toward a landslide victory in 2026,” said Ossoff in a recent CNN interview. “A landslide victory for Democrats across the country … I think the president is turning off swing voters by acting so recklessly - by abusing his power.” Ossoff then “doubled down” on his belief that Trump is “poisoning democracy” and even called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “reckless” and “ unqualified.” This appears to be part of the senator’s plan. But rebukes don’t cost millions of dollars. So what will he do with all that money?
Most of his campaign cash will likely go toward advertising. What will he advertise? Based on a rally in March, he will probably push anti-Trump rhetoric, maybe even toss in an image of Musk holding a chainsaw and take a jab at him, too. He appears to have no desire to shift closer to the center to appeal to the electorate. At the rally, Ossoff spent 20 minutes on stage saying things like, “Georgia will bow to no king!” He then “labeled Trump as corrupt, out of touch with the problems of regular people, and ‘trying to poison our democracy with fear and intimidation,’” explained the Associated Press.
So many people on the left continue to be unable to see past their anger toward the president. And despite the Democratic Party’s approval ratings hitting record lows since the 2024 election, few of its members, including Ossoff, appear to believe they need to change their messaging. “Democrats will keep losing elections because their policies are wildly unpopular,” said Republican National Committee spokesperson Abigail Jackson in a statement. “It doesn’t matter where Democrats dump their money or how much of it they raise - look at what happened in Florida where they outspent Republicans and still lost.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) intends to make an aggressive push to defeat Ossoff, especially after the senator took a shot at the president and the GOP over immigration methods. “Instead of a working with President Trump to keep Georgia families safe, Ossoff is leading the fight against efforts to prevent tragedies like this,” said Joanna Rodriguez, the NRSC spokeswoman, in a statement. Rodriguez was referring to a Honduran national living illegally in the US who was accused of murdering a woman in the Atlanta suburbs last month. “It’s shameful and Georgia deserves better.”
The Georgia seat is seen as a vital opportunity for Republicans to expand on their 53-47 majority. It’s still unclear who might run against Ossoff. A few Georgia Republicans have shown interest but are waiting to see if Brian Kemp, the state’s governor, will enter the Senate race. He is nearing the end of his final term and might be their best bet: In January, polling conducted by WPA Intelligence for the Club for Growth showed Kemp defeating Ossoff 46% to 40% in a hypothetical matchup, explained Politico. Regardless of who runs against the incumbent, Ossoff will probably need more than money and outrage to keep his seat. We saw how well that worked out for Kamala Harris.
