Vulnerable Dem senator’s ‘grassroots’ campaign powered by out-of-state cash, mostly by coastal elites

FIRST ON FOX: Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, described by CNN as the nation’s “most endangered Senate Democrat,” has touted “an unstoppable grassroots coalition.” But, according to the latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings released, his campaign is being propped up by a lot of out-of-state money.

Ossoff’s latest quarterly filing shows that more than 80% of the money he raised last period came from out-of-state donors. The report, which details contributions from individuals who have given at least $200 this cycle, also reveals that over half of his maxed-out donors hail from California, New York or the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region.

After the release of an October filing, Ossoff’s team touted in a press release that, in the face of “heavy spending from GOP Super PACs,” it raised $12 million during the last third-quarter filing period that runs from July 1 through Sept. 30. 

The same press release said Ossoff’s “re-election juggernaut” was “overwhelmingly” powered by small donors with an average of $36 from approximately 233,000 donors. If a donor has not given an aggregate of at least $200, that donor’s contribution remains undisclosed in FEC filings.

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Ossoff is running for re-election in a state Trump won in 2024, albeit by a thin two-point margin. He first arrived in Congress in 2021 after defeating incumbent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., in a razor-thin election that required a runoff. During that first election cycle, according to The Washington Free Beacon, Ossoff raised 60% of his contributions from outside the state of Georgia. 

According to Ossoff’s recent October FEC filing, California is leading the pack in terms of the most donations to his campaign during the third quarter, totaling about 20% of all donations. Georgia is second with about 17.5%.

But when it comes to donors who have maxed out their contribution limits, more of those political donors came from California (33.3%) New York (15.65%) and Massachusetts (10.8%) than from Georgia, which accounted for only 6.1% of maxed-out donors who contributed to Ossoff in the third quarter. 

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Given Ossoff’s vulnerability heading into Election Day, GOP strategists and Senate sources say the Georgia Democrat is unlikely to break with his party to vote for reopening the government, fearing it could cost him crucial support from liberal donors nationwide.

“There is no middle ground for him when it comes to these big decisions that have to be made, and I think the shutdown proves that,” Ryan Mahoney, a Georgia-based GOP strategist who has worked with Republican senators in the state told The Washington Examiner.

“His calculus is, ‘Do I vote to open the government up and get crushed and can’t raise a single dollar of low-dollar money, or do I vote to shut the government down and get $3 million [from online fundraising]?’” a Democratic Party insider also told The Hill. 

Ossoff’s campaign declined to comment when reached for this article.