Georgia GOP Strategist: “The Democrats are in such a great spot […]. It’s because the apparatus has been tested and is working.”

Atlanta, Ga. — New reporting in Politico highlights Sen. Ossoff’s “broader effort to boost state Democrats,” and comes on the heels of AJC reporting on Ossoff’s transfer of more than $3.6 million to date this cycle into the Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.

The Democratic Party of Georgia has been building huge organizational strength under Senator Ossoff and DPG Chair Charlie Bailey’s leadership. To date, DPG’s Coordinated Campaign has opened 30 field offices and hired over 100 staffers — the most staff hired by the Coordinated Campaign at this point in a cycle in Georgia. Today’s reporting in Politico notes that “Democrats across the state — from the densely populated Atlanta metro to Georgia’s small sliver of Atlantic coast — said they’ve seen a marked difference in the coordinated campaign’s involvement this cycle, from consistent communication to investment in smaller-profile races.” 

Less than 35 days until Election Day, Politico reported that Republicans are also “taking note of the newly improved Democratic machine” as Republican fears surrounding GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins continue to grow. Collins’ campaign has “gone disastrously wrong” after “a summer of scandal” that includes an ongoing federal investigation by the House Ethics Committee, Washington Post reporting on a former Collins staffer who uplifted Nazi imagery and depicted himself in a costume of the Ku Klux Klan, and Collins’ “close ties” to white nationalism, including his office’s work with notorious white nationalists.

Politico: Jon Ossoff is fundraising for Georgia Democrats. It’s a bet for his party’s future — and his own.
By: Alec Hernández | September 30, 2026 

KEY EXCERPTS 

• Sen. Jon Ossoff hosted a few hundred donors and supporters for a recent Washington fundraiser — but it wasn’t just for him.

• Instead, the Sept. 16 gathering was geared toward raising money for the Democratic Party of Georgia and its coordinated campaign […].

• It’s part of his broader effort to boost state Democrats as they look to flip the governor’s mansion for the first time in over 20 years and improve their margins in the legislature. […] 

• This month’s event was the latest of several similar fundraisers Ossoff has held over the last two years. He plans to host more fundraisers for Georgia’s Democratic Party and the coordinated campaign ahead of Election Day […].

• “It would be hard to call him anything but a leader of the [state] party at that point. He’s already inching his way towards that kind of designation,” said Andrew Heaton, a Georgia-based Democratic strategist who supports the ticket. “But if there is the kind of success that a lot of people are predicting for the cycle, he would receive a large portion of the credit for that.” […]

• The events are just part of Ossoff’s endeavor to help build out the Georgia Democratic Party’s apparatus after a rough 2024 election cycle.

• The senator has transferred $3.6 million of his own campaign funds to the party’s coordinated campaign to date, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported. Since the effort was announced in July, the party has opened 30 field offices across the sizable state, and employs more than 100 field staffers helping with grassroots organizing for races up and down the ballot.

• The coordinated campaign is led by a former Ossoff political director, Kyle Tromley. Caroline Saudek, a longtime fundraiser for Ossoff’s political operation, also joined the state party in January in a fundraising-focused role.

• Democrats across the state — from the densely populated Atlanta metro to Georgia’s small sliver of Atlantic coast — said they’ve seen a marked difference in the coordinated campaign’s involvement this cycle, from consistent communication to investment in smaller-profile races. That transformation, several noted, started when Chair Charlie Bailey took the helm.

• Bailey, an attorney from rural Harris County and former statewide candidate for lieutenant governor, became the leader of the party in mid-2025 with Ossoff’s crucial support.

• “It is definitely a stronger coordinated campaign than I’ve seen in years, and in previous cycles. And it feels like it is better staffed, they staffed up earlier,”said Heaton, the Georgia-based Democratic strategist.

• Republicans are also taking note of the newly improved Democratic machine in a state that, until 2020, was a safe-red hold for the most high-profile races. Already, GOP fears are growing about Rep. Mike Collins’ ability to beat Ossoff. And polls show GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson locked in a tight battle with Bottoms, despite having dropped tens of millions from his own bank account into the race. […]

• “The Democratic Party has deployed resources to hire staff that mobilizes and turns out voters. Republicans have not had this competitive of a race in a while, so they don’t have that type of muscle memory,” said Ryan Mahoney, a longtime Georgia-based Republican strategist.

• “The Democrats are in such a great spot,” he added. “It’s because the apparatus has been tested and is working.”

###