AJC: “Chase said his support for Ossoff is rooted in the Democrat’s attention to farmland issues during his first term, but one episode stood out in particular. Ossoff pressed to preserve U.S. funding for UNICEF, the federal program that distributes peanut-based food to malnourished children overseas.”

Atlanta, Ga. — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is out with new reporting on the latest in a string of endorsements from Republicans who have crossed party lines to support Senator Jon Ossoff in his bid for re-election. 

According to the AJC, Georgia Peanut Commission Chair Donald Chase, who is “speaking only for himself and not the organization,” is backing Senator Ossoff for re-election despite having “voted Republican for nearly his entire adult life.” Chase told the AJC, “I like people who will stand up for the things that I believe we, as Georgians, support.”

Senator Ossoff has a strong record of delivering for Georgia’s farmers, including introducing the Farm Disaster Tax Cut Act with the backing of key Georgia agricultural leaders to provide eligible farmers with a tax cut after natural disasters, revenue losses, or pest outbreaks. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which decimated farms across Georgia, Sen. Ossoff also led the charge in the Senate and helped pass $531 million in federal disaster relief for farmers in the state.

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson recently said on AJC’s Politically Georgia: “You talk to farmers in South Georgia, they can get him on the phone. They can get his staff on the phone. They can get help.”

The AJC recently detailed how two other Republicans — Tifton Mayor Julie Smith and Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson — crossed party lines to support the Senator and “praised Ossoff’s approach to constituent service and his efforts to steer federal resources to South Georgia.” Former Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Flake also endorsed Sen. Ossoff, with the AJC reporting that, according to Flake, “character, constituent work and respect for the institution outweigh their policy differences.” The New York Times recently cited that Toccoa Commissioner, former Mayor, and “lifelong Republican” Gail Fry is backing Senator Ossoff for re-election, saying, “We have gotten more support from Senator Ossoff than any other office that we’ve contacted.” 

In the meantime, GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins continues to face scrutiny over a number of controversies including his ties to white nationalism, which has led to growing concerns about Collins’ candidacy coming from within his own party both in-state and nationally. 

AJC: Georgia Peanut Commission chair is latest Republican to back Jon Ossoff
By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam | September 28, 2026

KEY EXCERPTS

• Donald Chase is the kind of voter Democrats are fighting over in Georgia.

• The Oglethorpe peanut farmer has voted Republican for nearly his entire adult life. He’s supporting and contributing to GOP candidates elsewhere on the November ballot. 

• But when it comes to the U.S. Senate race, he plans to vote for Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.
  
• “We don’t necessarily elect a party,” Chase said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I like to support people that I can get behind and believe in.”

• Chase is chair of the Georgia Peanut Commission, which represents more than 4,000 peanut farm families across the state, though he stressed that he is speaking only for himself and not the organization.

• He is the latest Republican to back Ossoff as the Democrat works to build a coalition that stretches beyond his party’s base in his reelection fight against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins. 

• Republican mayors Scott James Matheson of Valdosta and Julie Smith of Tifton crossed party lines for Ossoff while supporting Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson. Former Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona also endorsed Ossoff.

• Chase said his support for Ossoff is rooted in the Democrat’s attention to farmland issues during his first term, but one episode stood out in particular.

• Ossoff pressed to preserve U.S. funding for UNICEF, the federal program that distributes peanut-based food to malnourished children overseas. […]

• “He stood up and said, ‘This is not appropriate,” Chase said. “I like people who will stand up for the things that I believe we, as Georgians, support.”

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