Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) raised $11 million in the first quarter of 2025, the most money a senator has raised in an off-year election.
The report from Ossoff’s campaign team showed the senator gearing up for a highly contentious race in 2026. The GOP believes it has a good chance to pick up Ossoff’s seat.
The campaign received an average of $32 in donations from 156 of Georgia’s 159 counties. There were more than 155,000 first-time donors, and in total, 260,000 people, according to Ossoff’s campaign.
“I’m grateful to the hundreds of thousands of record-shattering supporters who have already joined what will be the biggest and most relentless turnout effort in Georgia history,” Ossoff said in a statement.
Ossoff’s team is preparing to face off against Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), who is flirting about running in the 2026 Senate race. No Republican candidates have been announced as the party deferred to Kemp, who would be the likely front-runner. Kemp has an approval rating of 63%.
Ossoff narrowly won his seat in the 2021 special election runoff against former Republican Sen. David Perdue by a little more than one percentage point.
The first millennial senator relied on moderate and swing voters for his win in 2021. He is now branding himself as “one of the most bipartisan senators in the Senate.”
However, Ossoff has been criticized by Jewish constituents for his approach to Israel. Last year, he voted in favor of a pair of failed resolutions that would have limited U.S. weapon sales to Israel.
Last week, Nikema Williams, former Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman, resigned amid the DNC‘s concern that the party was not headed in the right direction. Calls for Williams’s resignation began after President Donald Trump clinched the White House, winning the swing state in the 2024 election by roughly two points. She faced accusations of mismanaging party funds and suggestions that her position in Congress restricted her ability to raise funds because of federal rules.
2026 GEORGIA SENATE RACE RAMPING UP WITH OSSOFF ON DEFENSE AS KEMP RUMORS FLYING
Williams said Ossoff asked her to step down from her position, an accusation that Ossoff’s team did not dispute.
The 2026 Senate race is predicted to attract major campaign contributions. The 2022 election for Georgia’s Senate seat saw more than $515 million spent, making it the most expensive race of that campaign cycle.