EXCLUSIVE — Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins is homing in on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), launching a new digital ad that signals an early pivot toward the general election even as Collins remains locked in a three-way GOP primary.
The ad, shared exclusively with the Washington Examiner, pushes past Collins’s Republican opponents, whom he must first defeat in the primary election before facing off with Ossoff, casting the Georgia Democrat as a “radical” aligned with national progressives. It accuses Ossoff of backing policies that would provide healthcare to undocumented immigrants and links him to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), framing him as out of step with Georgia voters.
“We need a senator who works for Georgia,” a narrator says in the spot, which contrasts Collins’s support for President Donald Trump with what it characterizes as Ossoff’s alignment with liberal interests based outside the state. Collins appears on screen pledging to secure the border and back Trump’s agenda before closing with a call to “get Jon Ossoff out of Washington.”
The early general election attack comes as the Georgia GOP Senate primary has turned into the intraparty fight Republicans hoped to avoid after Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited, declined to run. Collins, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), and former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are now locked in an escalating clash that many Republicans expect to continue until Trump decides whether to intervene.
All three candidates are competing for the chance to challenge Ossoff in 2026, and no factor looms larger than Trump’s endorsement. Each has openly courted the president’s backing, aware that it could reshape the race overnight even as the primary grows more crowded and contentious.
By skipping past his GOP opponents and taking direct aim at Ossoff, Collins is signaling confidence that border security and loyalty to Trump will define both the primary and the general election. The move also reflects a broader effort by Republicans to nationalize the Georgia Senate race early in a state that has remained narrowly divided in recent cycles.
Recent polling suggests Collins holds an early advantage in the GOP primary. An average compiled by RealClearPolitics shows Collins leading the field with roughly 28% support, ahead of Carter at about 19% and Dooley at 12%. Across multiple surveys conducted since the summer, Collins has consistently maintained a high single- to low double-digit lead as the primary fight intensifies.
Collins has also pointed to his campaign’s organizational footprint as evidence that he is consolidating support statewide. His campaign says he is the only Republican Senate candidate with an organized presence in all 159 Georgia counties, supported by more than 400 volunteer “Convoy Captains” across the state.
Democrats argue the prolonged Republican clash is already weakening the eventual nominee. Devon Cruz, a senior communications adviser for the Democratic Party of Georgia, asserted Republicans are entering 2026 divided and vulnerable.
“Mike Collins and Georgia Republicans are kicking off the New Year embroiled in a messy primary that isn’t going away and plagued by the disastrous policies of an increasingly unpopular incumbent president who has caused real-life harm to Georgians,” Cruz said. “No matter who limps out of the primary, it’s clear that the eventual nominee will be badly bruised and battered for a general election.”
As Republicans battle in the primary, Ossoff’s campaign sought to seize on the infighting. In a memo circulated Monday to allies, the campaign described the GOP contest as chaotic and argued that the prolonged fight for Trump’s endorsement benefits the Democratic incumbent by delaying Republican consolidation.
GEORGIA’S MESSY GOP SENATE PRIMARY WON’T SETTLE WITHOUT TRUMP
The memo also emphasizes Ossoff’s focus on economic and healthcare issues, pointing to rising healthcare premiums following the lapse of Affordable Care Act subsidies and warning that Republican-backed policies could raise costs for Georgia families. The campaign positions Ossoff as centered on affordability and stability as Republicans jockey for position in a volatile primary.
Ossoff, who won his seat in the 2021 runoff elections, is expected to face a highly competitive reelection bid as Republicans view Georgia as one of their top pickup opportunities in 2026.