Bottoms, Ossoff campaign in Savannah, take aim at Trump

Ossoff opened his speech by spending more than three minutes deriding Trump for what he said were problems with the war in Iran, the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and inflation. Ossoff called his opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Trump puppet.

“They doubled health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians and threw more than 300,000 Georgians off of their health insurance altogether,” Ossoff said.

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Credit: Sarah Peacock

He also reiterated comments he made earlier this month that Collins “is a bigot and an antisemite under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars, widely known as a man of poor character, who lacks the judgment and integrity to serve in the United States Senate.”

Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor looking to become Georgia’s first Black woman governor, was more than six minutes into her speech before bringing up her November opponent.

“Let me tell you about the guy on the other side, the gazillionaire, Rick Jackson,” she said. “Now, don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing well in Georgia. This is a state where people work hard, build businesses, and become very successful. But here’s the difference: While I spent my career serving the people of Georgia as a judge and a mayor, Rick Jackson has profited from them. Rick built his empire with more than $1 billion in no-bid contracts.”

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Credit: Sarah Peacock

Several Savannah politicians attended the rally, including Mayor Van Johnson, who hugged Bottoms after her speech.

One of the event’s major themes was the lack of affordable healthcare. It’s an issue that struck a chord with at least one attendee, Denise Billue, a teacher at Putnam County Elementary School in Eatonton. Billue said she reached out to Ossoff’s office when her significant other, Duane Board, developed ALS.

“He worked for the federal government and was getting the runaround, and I reached out to Sen. Ossoff’s office,” she said. “He made a couple of phone calls and made it happen for us, with Duane going to the Shepherd Center and finally getting the proper medical care that he needed. One of his last requests before he passed away is he asked me if I would support Ossoff.”

Georgia’s U.S. Senate race is seen as a key contest for both parties. The Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, and Ossoff is the only Democratic incumbent running in 2026 from a state that Trump won in 2024.

Ossoff has also been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, a possibility he has dismissed as “fantasy football.” On the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, Ossoff is listed behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the second-most likely Democratic presidential nominee in 2028.

Besides healthcare, the cost of living and the need to better support public schools and teachers, one major topic was the impact of Trump’s tariffs. The first speaker at the rally was Dora Jenkins, a Savannah small business owner who owns Sole Sisterhood. The concierge service designs shoes for women with “big feet and big energy.”

“The tariffs, along with other everyday costs, can force small businesses into an unimaginable position,” Jenkins said. “So, for many other business owners and me in Georgia, the stakes of this year’s midterm elections are very high. I’m so grateful for Sen. Jon Ossoff’s continued support for small businesses. We need to do our part to make sure he’s reelected and to make sure that Keisha Lance Bottoms is the very first Black woman governor in the country.”