ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia voters are watching one of the most lopsided money races in the country. Federal filings show Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff raised about $33 million from July through September, while Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Mike Collins brought in less than $3 million as the U.S. Senate race enters its last two weeks.
Ossoff ended the quarter with roughly $26 million in the bank. Collins had a little more than $1.1 million left. Campaign staff for Ossoff said that money will go toward television advertising and voter contact through Election Day.
The gap is not new. In the previous quarter, Ossoff took in $42 million to $2.1 million for Collins, and the Federal Election Commission had already listed him as the top fundraiser of any Senate candidate in the nation before the latest reports.
Ossoff’s campaign said about 760,000 donations arrived during the quarter, nearly 97 percent of them under $100, with an average gift of $46. It has also sent more than $3.6 million to other Democrats, including governor nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Georgia is part of a wider pattern. Democratic Senate candidates in several battlegrounds posted third-quarter totals far ahead of their Republican rivals. Texas offers the starkest example, where Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico collected $60.2 million, roughly six times the $10.2 million taken in by Republican Ken Paxton, the state attorney general. In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown outraised Sen. John Husted $23.1 million to $4.8 million.
Outside money is shifting too. The Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC said it is pulling a week of planned ad spending in Georgia, citing Ossoff’s lead in polling. Republicans point to continued investment in the state, including a recent visit from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Friday’s Trump rally with Collins in Dalton.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
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Filed under: Atlanta GA Politics News
