Ossoff’s rallies have become viral spectacles, with movie-quality production and polished one-liners that ricochet across the media landscape. They inevitably invite chatter about a presidential run in 2028, something Ossoff has routinely ruled out.

But the more immediate purpose is far less mysterious.

Ossoff is using them to imprint a straightforward argument on Georgia voters and the out-of-state donors stocking his campaign: He says he is the check on Donald Trump that Georgia needs and calls Collins a “crumbling little bigot” MAGA loyalist whose political baggage makes him unfit to represent a closely divided state.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, has traveled the state arguing the opposite. At recent rallies in Augusta, Rome and Savannah he paints Ossoff as “the tip of the spear” for far-left socialists who oppose transgender restrictions and bring California values to Georgia.

“This is not just for Georgia getting rid of Jon Ossoff. This is for this country,” Collins said. “We need to stop this now in November. The people of Georgia are going to reject Jon Ossoff, and we’re going to get rid of this guy.”

‘Amazing recoveries?’

On Sunday, Ossoff piled on, calling Collins a “scandal piñata” who has lived up to earlier warnings from Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans that he’s too tied to Trump to win in November.

His no-mercy strategy amounted to a dual effort to keep Trump-weary Democrats energized while giving swing voters and disaffected Republicans a reason to abandon Collins.

That second part is increasingly important. Ossoff isn’t only trying to re-create the narrow Democratic coalition that elected him six years ago. He is also trying to expand it enough to turn what once looked like another nail-biter into a runaway win.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

If Ossoff can transform the contest into a rout and make Collins a liability for the broader GOP brand, he could boost gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and other Democrats down the ballot.

The Democrat has some help winning over GOP voters from two recent Georgia defections: Mayors Scott James Matheson of Valdosta and Julie Smith of Tifton.

The two Republicans will play a key role in the Democrat’s pitch to uneasy conservatives. He pointedly said more “bipartisan friends” will soon add their names to the list.

And even some veteran Republicans who aren’t crossing the aisle are sounding increasingly fatalistic about Collins’ prospects.

Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson is distancing himself from Collins while Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has criticized Collins’ lie that Trump “won” Georgia’s 2020 election, notably declined to endorse him over the weekend.

Jordan Fuchs, a Raffensperger deputy and longtime GOP strategist, took it a step further in a “Politically Georgia” podcast interview. She said she’s normally reluctant to write off a candidate months before Election Day. Not this time.

“I’ve seen amazing recoveries,” she said. “But I don’t think that’s going to be the case here in the Senate race. I think there’s too many forces going against Mike in that particular race.”

‘Better off’

Ossoff methodically laced into each of Collins’ controversies to cheering supporters.

Collins’ son-in-law was exposed as a white nationalist influencer who posted antisemitic propaganda and Nazi imagery online, forcing the Republican’s campaign on the defensive.

Then came Collins’ exchange with a Jan. 6 rioter, which Ossoff quickly seized on to accuse him of supporting taxpayer-funded payouts to Trump loyalists who assaulted the U.S. Capitol.

Collins’ campaign said he believes Americans wronged by the government should have a path to seek justice but doesn’t back the Trump administration’s now-scuttled call for a taxpayer-funded $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”

And there’s an unresolved House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that Collins misused congressional funds. Collins has called the allegations bogus and said he expects to be cleared.

“By the way,” Ossoff said, “if you think what’s come out so far about Mike is bad, there’s more and worse on the way.”

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Collins is trying just as hard to make the race about something else.

He casts Ossoff as a leftist ideologue dressed as a moderate who backs inflationary spending and higher taxes. He’s trying to turn Ossoff’s fundraising edge into a liability by criticizing how much of his campaign cash comes from outside Georgia.

And he’s increasingly framing himself as a no-nonsense workhorse who can bring jobs and “commonsense” compromise to Washington while also sticking to his tight embrace of Trump.

“Nobody works smarter or harder than the American farmer out there,” Collins said at a stop this weekend in Moultrie. “And if we had a U.S. senator who worked half as hard as they did, this place would be a whole lot better off.”