As Republicans splinter, Ossoff seizes the offensive in a changing Senate race
With Donald Trump’s approval ratings slipping and Georgia Republicans locked in a three-way scramble for his favor, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is going on offense — leaning hard into voting rights and anti-corruption themes as he frames himself as a steady hand in a chaotic time.
At a reelection rally Saturday, Ossoff denounced the FBI raid of Fulton County’s election site as a “scene out of a banana republic” and described the November vote as nothing short of a decisive test for the nation’s future.
“I believe we will escape this moral tailspin and recommit ourselves to the values that have powered 250 years of progress,” he said. “But none of this is possible without victory this November.”
Ossoff remains the nation’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbent on the 2026 midterm ballot, a distinction he happily invokes to mobilize supporters. But as a May primary nears, senior Democratic leaders — and even influential Republicans — see a race tilting in his favor.
The GOP contest has doubled as a high-stakes audition for Trump’s blessing, with initial GOP hopes of a consensus candidate dashed and the three-man field comprised of U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter, Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley jockeying for the MAGA base.
Ossoff’s allies see their careful effort not to stray from a president who still commands fierce loyalty among GOP voters as a fatal mistake. He relentlessly ties each to Trump, betting it will leave whoever emerges from the triple-decker race boxed in for the general election.
Collins, who leads the GOP field in recent polling with roughly one-third of the vote, carries additional baggage: an ongoing House ethics investigation involving himself and a senior adviser. Ossoff has already signaled he is prepared to revive the anti-corruption playbook he used to defeat Republican Sen. David Perdue in the 2021 runoff if Collins advances.
At the same time, the Democrat continues to stockpile resources. He recently reported $25 million on hand — dwarfing the GOP field — and has raised more money since 2021 than any congressional incumbent on this year’s ballot.
The Democrat’s organizational muscle was on display at the College Park convention center rally, where he addressed more than 1,400 supporters from a stage styled almost like a boxing ring. He didn’t bother mentioning any of his GOP rivals’ names, instead taking square aim at Trump.
“There is a wave building,” he told the cheering crowd. “And come November, the people who have been looting this country and desecrating our values are going to feel it.”
Some Republicans are sounding the alarm. Cole Muzio of the conservative Frontline Policy Action organization said the race can’t realistically be called a “tossup,” at least for now.
“None of the three has been able to knock Ossoff’s numbers down and successfully tie him to unfavorable issues or unify the party’s base,” Muzio said. “It’s time to move past petty barbs and focus on their opponent, because the Democrats have their strategy — constantly tie them to the president.”
The shift in mood marks a dramatic turn from Ossoff’s first reelection rally about a year ago, which came just after Trump recaptured Georgia with the help of swing voters and independents — the same bloc that powered Ossoff’s upset Senate victory against David Perdue.
Back then, a defiant Ossoff pledged that “Georgia will bow to no king” to mobilize voters frustrated by Trump’s cost-cutting, government-shrinking, tariff-imposing policies in the opening weeks of his term.
Now, a year into Trump’s return to the White House — marked by a rapid restructuring of the global order, the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities and escalating fights over immigration policy and election laws — Democrats say they see a broader opening.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, specifically pointed out U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sudden resignation and the Democratic rout last year of two Public Service Commission seats.
“There’s a whole set of reasons for our confidence.”
‘A big mistake’
The shifting political terrain is more unsettled by the FBI’s raid last week of a Fulton County elections office, thrusting Georgia back into the center of Trump’s long-running effort to relitigate the 2020 election — much as Minnesota has become a flashpoint in his administration’s immigration crackdown.
Trump has followed that campaign by pressing the Republican-controlled Congress to “nationalize” the administration of elections, repeating falsehoods about a “rigged” 2020 vote that was rejected by recounts, audits and officials in his own administration at the time.
Ossoff has seized on that tension, casting the moment as a test of democratic norms and positioning himself as a bulwark against federal overreach.
“They made a big mistake. They came to Fulton County, Georgia. They came to the political and spiritual heart of the civil rights movement,” he said. “And as a result we are going to mobilize the biggest and most unstoppable turnout in state history.”
And throughout his speech, he framed Trump and his deputies as political charlatans who exploited voters’ fears and vulnerabilities for political gain.
“We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans,” he said. “But this is a government of, by and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.”
Just as Ossoff has leaned into a familiar playbook, so have his Republican opponents. All three have portrayed him as a “radical” liberal hopelessly tethered to former President Joe Biden and out of touch with Georgia voters.
National GOP groups have amplified that message. The Republican National Committee has echoed that message, accusing Ossoff of being obsessed with blocking Trump’s agenda and reviving familiar culture-war attacks over transgender policies and immigration.
“If Ossoff wants to run on his record of defunding law enforcement, opening the border to millions of illegals, and forcing women to compete against and share locker rooms with men, then we wish him the best of luck,” RNC spokesperson Emma Hall said.
But some Republicans warn the familiar lines may no longer be enough to defeat Ossoff — particularly if the party remains divided and focused inward.
“I’m not fatalistic. I think all three Republicans can beat Ossoff,” said Muzio, the conservative leader. “But we shouldn’t act like this race is 50-50 today. It’s not.
“And we have to wake up now and think about what to change,” he added. “If we’re not realistic in February, we’re going to be stuck with Ossoff another six years come November.”
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
