GOP fears prolonged Georgia Senate primary is blowing key pickup opportunity

The dynamic has fueled growing anxiety among Republicans who worry Ossoff has spent months raising money, building his profile, and consolidating support while GOP candidates tear each other apart.

“Frustration is not the word that describes my feelings. I’m pissed,” said Ryan Mahoney, a longtime Georgia Republican strategist who previously worked for GOP senators in the state. “Jon Ossoff raising an incredible sum of money while he has no incoming. No one is hitting him. No one is undermining his fundraising ability.”

Mahoney argued Republicans are repeating a pattern that has plagued the party in past Georgia cycles, pointing to bruising primaries in both the 2018 governor’s race and the 2020 Senate contests that left nominees financially depleted entering the general election.

“Whoever the nominee is, they’re already coming out of a bloody primary,” he said. “They’re going to be facing down a guy that probably has $50 million cash on hand.”

Ossoff has shattered Georgia fundraising records this cycle, raising more than $14 million during the first quarter and entering the spring with roughly $31 million in the bank.

The Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP’s top Senate super PAC, has already reserved $44 million in television advertising to help counter Ossoff’s financial advantage. GOP operatives also anticipate a flood of national money and outside group spending once the party settles on a nominee, arguing Republicans will quickly unify around the eventual challenger to Ossoff.

Still, many Republicans privately say the party squandered months failing to consolidate behind a single candidate after Gov. Brian Kemp declined to run. 

National Republicans spent much of last year trying to recruit Kemp into the race, viewing the term-limited governor as the GOP’s strongest possible challenger to Ossoff. When Kemp declined, he backed Dooley, the son of longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley. Kemp’s endorsement of Dooley, a longtime family friend with no elected experience, failed to clear the field.

“There’s not a good reason why this thing dragged out for a year only to end up right where it was a year ago,” a Georgia Republican strategist said on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the race. “What did we gain by doing that?”

The strategist said frustration extends beyond the candidates themselves, with many Republicans privately faulting multiple power centers inside the party.

“I think the governor deserves some of the blame. Where has the White House been? What is the NRSC not doing?” the strategist said. “There’s not a good reason why this thing has dragged out for a year.”

The absence of a Trump endorsement has also loomed over the race. All three candidates have aggressively courted the president. But Trump has thus far declined to intervene despite mounting expectations that the contest is headed toward a runoff. The White House declined to comment on Trump’s views of the primary contest or whether he has been in contact with any of the three candidates.

“If he felt like he could put his finger on the scale and get someone over 50%, it would certainly benefit their chances,” said a former Republican staffer who previously served in senior Capitol Hill roles and now lives in Georgia. “It speaks volumes on its own.”

The prolonged primary is unfolding as national Republicans increasingly turn their attention toward other battlegrounds, including Michigan, where Democrats are navigating a contentious Senate primary of their own. Some Republicans fear Georgia risks slipping down the list of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities after once being viewed as perhaps the party’s best chance to flip a Democratic-held Senate seat.

The campaigns themselves reject the idea that the primary has damaged chances of beating Ossoff.

A Collins campaign spokesperson argued that the high spending proved he was the candidate with a message that could break through negative ads, something that will likely be needed in the general election given Ossoff’s war chest.

“It’s been amazing to watch the governor spend $3 million to boost Derek Dooley instead of protecting the Supreme Court, and Squeaker spend $7 million to boost himself, yet neither can compete with what Georgia Republicans actually want: an authentic trucker who delivers results,” the spokesperson said.

Chris Crawford, a spokesperson for Carter, said the contentious primary has forced candidates to fight for every single vote in every single part of the state, increasing name recognition and grassroots support.

“President Trump calls Buddy Carter a ‘MAGA warrior’ and after covering every inch of Georgia, voters know why,” Crawford said. “He has out worked the field, and people are turning out early and voting for Buddy Carter to be their next U.S. senator. We’re in a great spot, peaking at the right time. Buddy is primed and ready to send Jon Ossoff packing.”

Connor Whitney, a spokesperson for Dooley, said the primary brought media attention to every corner of the state and raised awareness of the contest.

“The Dooley campaign is firing on all cylinders this last week of the GOP primary,” Whitney said. “From campaigning in every corner of the state with Governor Kemp, to doing countless media interviews, and rising in the polls, momentum is on our side. We look forward to May 19th.”

A recent Quantus Insights poll conducted April 28 through May 2 showed Dooley climbing to 23%, his strongest showing yet and a potential sign that the Kemp-backed candidate is gaining traction heading into the final stretch of the race.

Democrats, for their part, see the bruising GOP primary as creating an opportunity for Ossoff to enter the general election from a position of strength. On a press call this week, Georgia Democrats highlighted a string of recent special election overperformances, stronger-than-expected Democratic participation in early voting, and Ossoff’s massive fundraising advantage as signs that the party’s coalition remains energized despite Georgia backing Trump in 2024.

Democratic officials also argued that months of Republican infighting have pushed the GOP field into an increasingly aggressive competition over who can align themselves most closely with Trump and the national party’s right flank. At the same time, Democrats say Ossoff has spent the primary period focused on expanding his statewide political operation and defining the Republican contenders early on issues including healthcare, insurance costs, and dysfunction in Washington.

Within Democratic circles, some also believe a runoff would further complicate Republicans’ efforts to unify behind a nominee by prolonging the intraparty attacks, forcing additional spending, and keeping the eventual candidate locked in a divisive contest well into the summer.

Nick Puglia, a regional press secretary for the NRSC, argued Ossoff remains highly vulnerable despite his fundraising advantage. 

“Jon Ossoff is the most vulnerable incumbent on the map and he’s going to need all the help he can get,” Puglia said. “Out of state liberals are bankrolling his campaign for that exact reason, but no amount of money can change his record of voting against Georgians and with the radical left.”

The Republican National Committee also rejected the idea that the GOP is entering the general election weakened, arguing Democrats face their own political and financial problems heading into 2026.

“Georgia Republicans are running in lockstep with President Trump and his winning agenda, while Democrats are stuck defending a toxic and historically unpopular record,” RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall said. “Republicans have the message, the momentum, and the resources to defy history in November, and Democrats are too broke and divided to do anything about it.”

But Mahoney warned Republicans may already be running behind after spending months attacking one another instead of defining Ossoff before the general election.

“No one is hitting him. No one is undermining his fundraising ability. No one is undermining anything he says or does,” Mahoney said. “He’s on late night TV. He’s doing the whole circuit, and no one is pushing back on him.”

“And so it’s going to be very hard in kind of a very abridged election cycle to take him on and take him out,” he added. “It’s frustrating. It frankly makes me incredibly pissed off.”