Raphael Warnock, left, and Jon Ossoff greet a driver during a Christmas Eve gift meal in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg
Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have raised more than $ 100 million in campaign contributions over the past two months, nearly doubling the Senate fundraising record and far surpassing their Republican rivals, according to his latest records to the Federal Electoral Commission.
Ossoff and Warnock face races against incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. If Democrats manage to oust their opponents in the Jan. 5 playoffs, the Senate will split between 50 and 50 and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can break any tie vote in favor of Democrats.
In the last reporting period, from October 15 to December 16, Ossoff raised $ 106.8 million, while Warnock raised $ 103.4 million. Both destroyed the previous record of $ 57.9 million in fundraising for a Senate candidate set by Democrat Jaime Harrison in the third quarter of 2020 in his failed bid to oust South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Perdue, who faces Ossoff, raised $ 68.1 million and ended up with $ 16 million in cash. Loeffler, who opposes Warnock, filed his report Wednesday. It raised $ 64 million and had $ 21.3 million in the bank during the final weeks of the campaign. Combined, Democrats swept $ 78.1 million from Republican headlines.
Both Georgia contests have attracted national interest, with some donors writing seven-digit checks to super-PAC and online donors pumping money into candidates ’coffers.
Candidate applications include money raised for general elections and qualifiers.
Senator Kelly Loeffler, halfway through, speaks during a “African Americans for Kelly” press conference in Marietta, Georgia, on December 23rd.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg
Ossoff spent $ 93.5 million and had $ 17.5 million in cash on hand to head to the finish line. He is the largest media investor in his career against Perdue, reserving television, radio and digital ads totaling $ 47.5 million from the Nov. 3 to Dec. 16 election, according to data from AdImpact.
Warnock had $ 22.8 million in cash on hand after spending $ 86.1 million. He has set aside $ 41.2 million in media time from the election until December 16, compared to Loeffler’s $ 27.5 million.
The base donors, who contributed less than $ 200, awarded Ossoff $ 49.6 million. It’s not the first time small donors have poured donations into their coffers. In 2017, he earned $ 19.1 million and $ 30 million overall while running unsuccessfully in a special election in the 6th district of the Georgia Congress. Although Ossoff lost, the contest was the first show of enthusiasm from Democratic donors during President Donald Trump’s presidency.
Warnock raised $ 50.5 million from grassroots donors.
In the general election, Perdue led Ossoff from 49.7% to 48%. The Loeffler-Warnock race was a special “jungle primary” to occupy the seat left by Johnny Isakson. Warnock led 32.9% to 25.9% of Loeffler. Republican Doug Collins was third with 20%.
President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia by 12,670 votes, giving Democrats confidence they could hold at least one seat in the Senate for the first time since 2005. Both Trump and Biden have campaigned in the state.
Some super-PACs active in runoff also submitted reports covering their activity between November 24 and December 16. The Lincoln Project, founded by former Republican agents who opposed Trump and now responds to Democrats, raised $ 4.8 million, spent $ 7.5 million and had $ 5.4. millions of cash in hand.
On the Republican side, ESAFund raised $ 5.1 million. Marlene Ricketts, wife of billionaire Joe Ricketts, donated $ 1.9 million, while Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and Charles Schwab, founder of Charles Schwab Corp., donated 1 million dollars each. The super-PAC spent $ 1.4 million, including a $ 250,000 donation to the Gun Owners Action Fund, and had $ 3.7 million in cash. Georgia United Victory, which supports Loeffler, raised $ 2.8 million, spent $ 3.4 million and had $ 411,236 in the bank.
Some smaller super-PACs had large donors. Keep America America Action Fund raised $ 600,000 from Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, just under two-thirds of the $ 902,170 it raised between November 24 and December 16. Singer and Schwab donated $ 250,000 to America Patriots PAC. Both groups supported Republicans.