Overlooked in today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution poll: 20% of Republican voters in Georgia either “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

He’s also got $21 million in the bank.

A new Atlanta Journal Constitution poll in Georgia finds Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) holds an early advantage in the GOP race for Senate with a 10-point lead over his nearest rival.

But with nearly 40% of the likely Republican voters undecided, the contest is far from settled.

New York Times: “As the only Democrat running for the Senate in a state that President Trump won in 2024, Mr. Ossoff risks alienating some voters by sticking with his party in refusing to vote to reopen the government until Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans come to the table to negotiate an extension of Obamacare subsidies that are slated to expire at the end of the year.”

“But the shutdown fight is also a chance for Mr. Ossoff to rally core Democratic supporters behind him as he braces for a difficult campaign, at a time when many in his party are spoiling for a fight against Mr. Trump.”

Politico: “On paper, Jon Ossoff has plenty of reasons to break party ranks as the government shutdown drags into a third week: The 38-year-old Georgian is the most vulnerable Senate Democrat up for re-election next year and his home state has more than 81,000 federal workers at risk for furloughs and firings.”

“In reality, Ossoff is sticking closely to his party’s strategy of trying to reframe the shutdown fight as a battle over health care — and has emerged as an object lesson in the limits of Republican efforts to focus pressure on the Democrats’ soft spots.”

“Part of that calculus is that it is much riskier to alienate your own party’s base than to break ranks in hopes of appealing to swing voters.”

“Sen. Jon Ossoff raised another $12 million over the last three months, bringing his campaign account to $21 million as he gears up for one of the nation’s most competitive midterm races,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-GA) Senate campaign went up with a seven-figure ad blitz seeking to tie him closely to President Trump — and to the Laken Riley Act, even though primary rival Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) was the main sponsor of the bill, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

College football coach Derek Dooley (R) officially launched his Senate campaign in Georgia.

Playbook: “The college football coaching scion will seek to replicate the path of Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Dooley’s launch video presents him as a Trump-aligned political outsider seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.”

Axios: “The Georgia race will be Republicans’ best chance at picking up a seat this cycle, but leadership has yet to rally behind one winning GOP candidate.”

The U.S. Senate campaign of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) added a 51st state to the union on Monday when it released an ad that misspelled Georgia, Mediaite reports.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) said that “he will join the field challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the state the GOP has named as their top target to add a Senate seat in 2026,” Bloomberg reports.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution says Collins “launched his campaign after laying the groundwork for months — locking down endorsements from prominent conservatives, meeting with Trump advisers at the White House and teasing his campaign in an online video urging supporters to ‘stay tuned.'”

“President Donald Trump’s political team is irked that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has continued to recruit his preferred GOP Senate candidate even though the White House is not yet on the same page,” Punchbowl News reports.

“Once enemies, Trump and Kemp had hoped to work together to find the best candidate to oust Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2026.”

“Now that partnership is at risk of fraying with Kemp’s eagerness to recruit former football coach Derek Dooley to be the GOP standard bearer in this hugely important race.”

“Gov. Brian Kemp is making a late push to help lay the groundwork for former football coach Derek Dooley’s U.S. Senate bid — directly telling Insurance Commissioner John King and U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter he won’t support their campaigns,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The behind-the-scenes moves came Thursday as Dooley, a longtime Kemp ally, prepares to enter the Republican primary to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.”

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is going hard at President Trump as he gears up for a difficult reelection fight, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

At a rally, Ossoff called Trump a “depraved man” and said America had to fight against “deeply entrenched corruption and greed.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced she wouldn’t run for Senate after President Trump’s team showed her polling from Tony Fabrizio that had her losing to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff by 18 points, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump met quietly Saturday in Washington to discuss unifying behind a Republican Senate candidate in Georgia,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“It was not immediately clear if the two reached an agreement over backing the same contender in the wide-open race against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, but one person described the meeting as productive.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) won’t challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) next year, forgoing a polarizing Senate bid that many senior Republicans feared could jeopardize the party’s shot at flipping the seat, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Said Greene: “Jon Ossoff, you can stop with the fundraising emails and campaign ads claiming I’m your opponent. I’m not running.”

Politico: “Greene’s decision loomed large over the race, with many Democrats salivating over the possibility she’d enter the contest in one of the swingiest of swing states in the nation.”

“Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) became the first prominent Republican to jump into the race against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), launching his campaign Thursday with a TV ad that casts him as a pro-Donald Trump “MAGA warrior,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Carter, a six-term Savannah-area incumbent, announced his campaign just days after Gov. Brian Kemp passed on a run, triggering what’s expected to be a GOP free-for-all to challenge the Democrat. About a dozen other Georgia Republicans are also considering bids.”

“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to pass on a Senate bid has top Republican officials scrambling to find a backup plan and avoid a divisive primary — or, at the very least, one divisive candidate,” NBC News reports.

“There are growing concerns in Georgia GOP circles that if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes the Republican nominee to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, she could hurt the party’s chances to flip the seat, given her divisive reputation and rhetoric.”