Georgia: Trump campaigns for Collins – Democrat Ossoff leads Senate race
On Friday Trump appears in Dalton for Republican Mike Collins. According to PBS, Senator Jon Ossoff has a comfortable lead – the only Democrat running for re-election in a state Trump won.
Archive image · Photo: Senate Democrats / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
President Donald Trump is due to campaign today, Friday, in Dalton, Georgia, for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins. The congressman is challenging Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. According to PBS NewsHour, the 39-year-old is the youngest senator and the only Democrat seeking re-election in a state Trump won in 2024. Ossoff has built a comfortable lead, while Collins's fundraising has been lacklustre.
Ossoff is campaigning on the cost of living and medical bills as well as federal aid, for example after Hurricane Helene. "Millions are just one medical bill, short paycheck, or bad alternator from disaster," he said. Collins is focusing on crime and illegal immigration. "Every life taken by an illegal immigrant is preventable," said the Trump-endorsed Republican.
Collins's campaign has suffered several missteps, including an ad in which "Georgia" was misspelled. There were also reports that two former aides and his son-in-law had promoted antisemitic or white nationalist views; Collins denies the allegations and says he has condemned racism and antisemitism. According to PBS, voters in south Georgia cite high costs, tariffs and labour shortages caused by immigration policy as their main concerns.