Inside The Expensive Race To Unseat A Vulnerable Democratic Senator

The Georgia Republican Senate primary is gaining traction on the fundraising front, bringing new attention to the race to take on incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.

Ossoff is considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in the 2026 election cycle, with the Cook Political Report ranking his race as a “Toss-Up.” As of June 30, the Democrat has over $15 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Georgia Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, as well as former football coach Derek Dooley, are currently in the field on the Republican side.

Collins raised $1.9 million in Q3 and currently has $2.4 million in cash on hand, according to a press release. He announced his candidacy on July 28 and had a war chest $2.9 million overall, with just over $1 million transferred from his congressional bid.

“These fundraising numbers make clear what we have said from the beginning: we will not be outworked, we will not be outhustled, and we will win this race and put the people of Georgia back in the driver’s seat in the United States Senate,” Collins said in a press release.

Dooley raised $1.85 million in Q3, and he entered the race eight weeks ago. The Republican has $1.7 million cash on hand.

“For the past 8 weeks, we’ve hit the ground running at full speed in order to build the operation needed to win this seat back for the people of Georgia,” Dooley said in a statement.

His campaign chair, Don Leebern III, said, “there’s no question that Derek has the clear momentum in this race.”

The high fundraising totals are a strong indicator that the general election will likely shape up to be a highly expensive race on both sides.

However, some Democrats argue that the latest numbers are an indicator of a complicated Republican primary.

“Mike Collins and Derek Dooley’s neck-in-neck fundraising reports further underscore that Georgia Republicans are in a messy, chaotic U.S. Senate primary for the long haul,” Democratic Party of Georgia Senior Communications Advisor Devon Cruz told The Daily Wire in a statement.

Ossoff was first elected in 2021 following an extremely tight runoff election between him and former Republican Sen. David Perdue. President Joe Biden narrowly won the state in November, and Trump flipped the state back to red in 2024.

“I am the number one target in the country for the Republican Party,” he said in an August advertisement, adding that “MAGA is already spending millions of dollars to defeat me” as he’s the only Democratic senator running in 2026 in a state Trump won.

The Daily Wire reached out to Carter’s campaign for comment. The primary election is scheduled for May 2026, and a runoff would be triggered in June 2026 if no candidate receives a minimum of 50% of the vote.