Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Sen. Jon Ossoff hosted a few hundred donors and supporters for a recent Washington fundraiser \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t just for him.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Sept. 16 gathering was geared toward raising money for the Democratic Party of Georgia and its coordinated campaign, according to an Ossoff aide and one attendee, who was granted anonymity to describe a private event.<\/p>\n
It’s part of his broader effort to boost state Democrats as they look to flip the governor\u2019s mansion for the first time in over 20 years and improve their margins in the legislature. And the timing, just weeks before November, signals confidence in Ossoff\u2019s own reelection prospects and the sizable warchest he\u2019s raised for himself<\/a>.<\/p>\n This month\u2019s event was the latest of several similar fundraisers Ossoff has held over the last two years. He plans to host more fundraisers for Georgia\u2019s Democratic Party and the coordinated campaign ahead of Election Day, according to one person familiar with his planning, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n If his moves are successful and November ushers in historic wins for Georgia Democrats, Ossoff will have cemented his status as a serious leader in the critical swing state. He would hold on to a crucial seat in the Senate as the party looks toward the South to shore up its future. He\u2019d be credited in part with helping elect former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the country\u2019s first Black woman governor. And though Ossoff has said he\u2019s not interested in joining a 2028 presidential race, leading a November sweep would ultimately raise his national profile.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d said Andrew Heaton, a Georgia-based Democratic strategist who supports the ticket. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Ossoff\u2019s campaign did not comment beyond confirming the fundraisers.<\/p>\n The events are just part of Ossoff\u2019s endeavor to help build out the Georgia Democratic Party\u2019s apparatus after a rough 2024 election cycle.<\/p>\n The senator has transferred $3.6 million of his own campaign funds to the party\u2019s coordinated campaign to date, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported.<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The coordinated campaign is led by a former Ossoff political director, Kyle Tromley. Caroline Saudek, a longtime fundraiser for Ossoff\u2019s political operation, also joined the state party in January in a fundraising-focused role.<\/p>\n Democrats across the state \u2014 from the densely populated Atlanta metro to Georgia\u2019s small sliver of Atlantic coast \u2014 said they\u2019ve seen a marked difference in the coordinated campaign\u2019s involvement this cycle, from consistent communication to investment in smaller-profile races. That transformation, several noted, started when Chair Charlie Bailey took the helm.<\/p>\n Bailey, an attorney from rural Harris County and former statewide candidate for lieutenant governor, became the leader of the party<\/a> in mid-2025 with Ossoff\u2019s crucial support<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d Heaton, the Georgia-based Democratic strategist, said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 ability to beat Ossoff<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon shrugged off Democrats\u2019 fundraising efforts and said he feels \u201cvery good\u201d about Republicans\u2019 field resources.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve had a field program in place for months now. We have field staff on the ground all over the state,\u201d he said in an interview, though he declined to provide details on the size of the Georgia GOP\u2019s paid and volunteer operation.<\/p>\n Others aren\u2019t as dismissive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019t have that type of muscle memory,\u201d said Ryan Mahoney, a longtime Georgia-based Republican strategist.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats are in such a great spot,\u201d he added. \u201cIt’s because the apparatus has been tested and is working.\u201d<\/p>\n