Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has kicked off of 2026 with an astonishing $25 million on hand, the most of any incumbent senator facing a competitive race this year. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is entering 2026 with a huge fundraising edge over his Republican rivals, while one of Georgia’s longest serving lawmakers is facing a potentially competitive primary and Republicans in northwest Georgia are preparing for the difficult task of finding Marjorie Taylor Greene’s replacement.
Congressional and U.S. Senate candidates spent the weekend snowed in and taking stock of the money they raised and spent during the final three months of 2025. The numbers are giving us an idea of just how much money it will cost to build a campaign that reaches every Georgian.
Ossoff, seeking his second six-year term, raised nearly $10 million during the fourth quarter of 2025. He starts the new year with an astonishing $25 million on hand, the most of any incumbent senator facing a competitive race this year.
“Georgia remains a red state and Sen. Ossoff is already facing millions of dollars of Republican spending against him,” Ossoff’s campaign said in a press release.
Republicans must first settle on a nominee of their own before they can start aiming any attacks and resources at Ossoff, and last year’s final three-month dash for cash suggests that they are still a long way from doing so. While U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter fight to become the MAGA-sphere’s preferred candidate, ex-Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley hopes he can bridge the (growing) divide between conservative hardliners and the party establishment.
Dooley raised a little more than $1 million in the fourth quarter as he works to establish himself in a state where his last name is etched in college football lore.
Carter, a pharmacist from St. Simons Island who has filed bills in support of President Donald Trump’s Greenland takeover push, raised $1.7 million between October and December, which includes a $1 million loan from his own wallet.
And Collins, a trucking executive from Butts County and one of the president’s most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill, brought in a little less than $825,000. It was Carter who ended the period with the most money left to spend, reporting a leftover $4.1 million while Collins and Dooley each had about $2 million on hand to start the new year.
President Trump, known for picking favorites in volatile Republican primaries, has yet to weigh in on Georgia’s Senate showdown. But Ossoff, who narrowly won office in 2021 after rising to prominence in a congressional special election during the early months of Trump’s first presidency, is nevertheless preparing for a tough battle to defend his seat.
“The Q4 haul underscores the massive momentum building behind the only Democratic senator up for re-election in a state that Donald Trump won,” said Ossoff campaign spokesperson Ellie Dougherty.
Trump’s involvement could also prove to be critical in northwest Georgia, where 21 Republicans (yes, roughly two dozen candidates) are competing in a special election next month for the solidly Republican Congressional District 14 seat previously held by Greene. Among them are Lookout Mountain District Attorney Clayton Fuller, ex-state Sen. Colton Moore, former FEMA official Star Black, former Paulding County Commissioner Brian Stover and pastor Tom Gray.
Greene resigned last month, which means none of her potential successors have a full quarter of fundraising under their belts. Early fundraising reports point to a three-way race between Moore, Fuller and Gray – the only candidates who have eclipsed the six-figure threshold thus far.
And U.S. Rep. David Scott, currently the ‘dean’ of metro Atlanta’s congressional cohort, is facing what might be the most competitive primary of his career as the party grapples with an uncomfortable debate over the ages of some of its leaders. The 80-year-old Atlanta Democrat, who once chaired the House Agriculture Committee, brought in less than $85,000 since October – one of his weakest election-year hauls since winning office in 2002.
State Rep. Jasmine Clark of Lilburn and former Gwinnett County school board leader Everton Blair are among the handful of elected Democrats mounting well-funded bids against Scott in District 13, which covers parts of six counties south and east of Atlanta. Clark said Monday that she raised $130,000 in the previous quarter – and an additional $160,000 in January alone.
“I am floored by the outpouring of support that our campaign has received since I entered the race,” said Clark, a microbiologist and a part-time Emory University professor. “When we launched this campaign in June, we knew this fight wouldn’t be easy. But the tremendous support from more than 11,000 donors, people from every county and city in this district, have powered this campaign and built a machine that is ready to send a scientist to Washington DC.”
The May primary is practically the equivalent of a general election in District 13, where African Americans account for a vast majority of the electorate.
Elsewhere, state Rep. Houston Gaines, an Athens Republican, remains in firm control of the race for Collins’ District 10 seat in northeast Georgia. Down on the coast, multiple Republicans are running to succeed Carter, but year-end fundraising reports say the early frontrunner is Jim Kingston – the son of former southeast Georgia congressman Jack Kingston.
