ATLANTA – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff raised more than $21.3 million during the third quarter in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. David Perdue, Ossoff’s campaign reported.
That represents the largest-ever fundraising quarter for a Senate race in Georgia, according to the Ossoff campaign, and dwarfed the $7 million the Perdue campaign reported raising during July, August and September.
“With less than three weeks to go, our grassroots juggernaut is firing on all cylinders to send Jon to the U.S. Senate,” said Ellen Foster, Ossoff’s campaign manager.
Perdue campaign manager Ben Fry noted that 87% of Ossoff’s money during the third quarter came from out of state, and 26% of that was from California alone.
“While Ossoff and his allies are bankrolled by liberal billionaires from California and New York who want to use Ossoff to push a radical socialist agenda, Senator Perdue is proud to have the support of Georgians who will re-elect him for another term,” Fry said.
However, according to the Ossoff campaign, his average contribution during the quarter was only $35, while 97% of his campaign donations were for less than $100.
Most recent polls have shown the two candidates locked in a tight battle, within those polls’ margins of error.
However, a poll released this week by Quinnipiac University gave Ossoff a bit more breathing room, putting him up by 51% to 45%.
The two candidates entered the final month of the contest with about the same amount of cash on hand, just more than $8 million, according to the Perdue campaign.