U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and other Democrats on next year’s ballot are betting that President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget and spending package will come back to haunt Republicans — and a new poll shows how they plan to make their case.
A Public Policy Polling survey of Georgia voters commissioned by national Democrats found that 52% oppose the sweeping spending plan, which slashes Medicaid and safety net programs while extending Trump-era tax cuts.
It also found that nearly two-thirds of voters expressed concerns after they were supplied with Democratic messaging, such as warnings the law could lead to the closure of scores of hospitals and hike “the costs of energy, food and health care.”
The poll, conducted July 8—9, is one of the first to gauge Georgia reaction on the measure since Republicans muscled it through Congress at Trump’s urging. And it lands as Democrats ramp up their attacks.
At a Savannah rally this month, Ossoff telegraphed his plan to focus on the measure, saying Trump’s agenda “should chill us to the bone.”
The bill extends roughly $3.8 trillion in tax cuts from Trump’s first term, rolls back key parts of President Joe Biden’s platform and boosts immigration enforcement and military spending, enacting many of the president’s domestic policy vows.
But to pay for it, the legislation slashes $1 trillion from Medicaid, trims federal food assistance spending and rolls back incentives that helped turned Georgia into a green energy powerhouse. It also adds roughly $3 trillion to the national debt.
Roughly 310,000 Georgians could lose insurance under the bill, according to a forecast by the health research nonprofit KFF.
Top Georgia Republicans are united behind the measure. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached out to all current and potential candidates for U.S. Senate. All but one, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, affirmed their support.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, one of the first Republicans to challenge Ossoff, led a subcommittee that formulated the Medicaid spending cuts. And U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is preparing for a potential run, helped whip votes to pass the measure.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this moment in history,” Collins said of the new law. “The Golden Age of America is here, and we’re not looking back.”
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