His June filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff raking in an abundance of out-of-state donations. The report’s receipts total to almost $4 million, leaving Ossoff with $2.5 million in cash-on-hand. The filings include a $450,000 loan to the campaign from the candidate himself.
Ossoff continually frames incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) as “out of touch” with Georgia voters, but his fundraising haul is bolstered by donations from states other than the one he seeks to represent. Just 27 percent of this quarter’s fundraising comes from donations from Georgia. States including California, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Connecticut, Oregon and Washington, D.C. make up 73 percent of Ossoff’s contributions in this report.
The Georgia Democrat’s campaign is fueled by a promise to “end big money in politics” and overturn Citizens United, but Ossoff’s campaign continues to be bankrolled by corporate donations via Leadership PACs, which allow candidates to receive corporate donations indirectly. Ossoff also took contributions from Leadership PACs during his bid for Congress in 2017, while also running a campaign based on getting corporate donations out of politics. As Open Secrets lays out, Leadership PACs serve as an avenue for candidates running against big money to receive such corporate donations through back channels. Though Ossoff vowed that his campaign would take no corporate money, he received $30,000 in donations from various Leadership PACs during this fiscal quarter.
73% of @ossoff 2nd Q $$$ came from outside GA. GA was ONLY 27%...CALIFORNIA was 24% of his $$$ (just 3% from his GA #). He also took a lot of L PAC money mostly funded by corporate pacs & lobbyists. CA/NY/DC make up nearly half of his money. #gapol #gasen
— Paul Bennecke (@PaulBennecke) July 16, 2020
BREAKING: After promising he wouldn't take corporate PAC money, @ossoff's FEC report shows he took tens of thousands of dollars from corporate and lobbyist-funded leadership PAC's. #GAsen #GApol pic.twitter.com/8JQCCGJVY2
— Team Perdue (@TeamPerdue) July 16, 2020
If you really believe this, why did you take giant sums of corporate donations this last quarter? #GASen #gapol https://t.co/qkrdvhYcxz
— John Burke (@JBurkeNation) July 16, 2020
Sen. Perdue’s campaign took note of Ossoff’s glaring hypocrisy and pattern of being “bankrolled” by out-of-state Democratic donors:
"Jon Ossoff is exactly who we thought he was, a privileged liberal bankrolled by out-of-state radicals," said Perdue for Senate Communications Director John Burke. "Ossoff has broken his word to not take corporate PAC money and has made his campaign nothing more than a front for New York and California liberals who want to buy the state of Georgia for Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. Georgians will not be fooled by Ossoff's false rhetoric and will reject him and his radical donors this November."
Corporate donations are acceptable in Ossoff’s view, provided that they boost his political objectives.