Where the money at?
Who's funding Georgia's 2026 races, who's writing themselves checks, and how to look up the receipts yourself.
Who's funding Georgia's 2026 races, who's writing themselves checks, and how to look up the receipts yourself.
Campaigns run on money: it pays for the ads in your feed, the flyers on your door, and the buses that carry voters to the polls. Money doesn't vote — but it decides whose message you hear most often, so it's worth knowing where it comes from. Georgia has two very different money stories this year.
In the U.S. Senate race, Jon Ossoff has built one of the biggest war chests in the country — roughly $81 million raised this cycle — and his campaign says nearly 90% of donations were under $100, averaging about $40 each. His opponent, Mike Collins, entered the summer with about $2.2 million on hand.
In the governor's race, Republican nominee Rick Jackson largely wrote his own checks: more than $83 million of his personal fortune, with over $100 million spent on the primary alone. Keisha Lance Bottoms is running on traditional fundraising — which means small and mid-size donations matter enormously on the Democratic side of this race.
Figures come from July 15, 2026 federal filings and spring state disclosure reports — sources at the bottom of this page. New federal numbers drop in mid-October, covering July through September.
Federal race, so both campaigns file quarterly with the FEC. Numbers below are from the reports announced July 15, 2026.
| Candidate | Raised Apr–Jun | Raised this cycle | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Ossoff (D) | $20M | $81M | $42M |
| Mike Collins (R) | $2.1M | — | $2.2M |
Ossoff's average donation: about $40, with nearly 90% of donations under $100. Collins reported almost 16,000 donations averaging $19, from all 159 Georgia counties. Expect heavy outside spending from national super PACs on both sides as November approaches — that money is reported separately, not by the campaigns.
State race, so campaigns file with Georgia's campaign finance commission. The most recent complete picture is from the spring reports.
| Candidate | Raised (through spring) | Self-funded | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) | $2.8M | $200K | Won the May 19 primary with 57.7% |
| Rick Jackson (R) | $83.5M | $83M | Spent $100M+ on the primary; won the June 16 runoff |
Jackson's campaign is almost entirely self-financed — about 99% of what he's raised is his own money. That buys a lot of airtime, but primaries around the country show self-funders don't automatically win. Down-ballot statewide races (Attorney General, Secretary of State, PSC, and more) file with the same state commission — look any of them up with the tools below.
Every dollar a campaign raises and spends is public record. You don't have to take anyone's word for it — including ours. These are the official databases and the easiest free tools built on top of them.
The FEC's database: itemized donors, spending, and cash on hand for Ossoff, Collins, and every U.S. House candidate.
FEC — Georgia Senate 2026 ↗Georgia's official campaign finance search: disclosure reports for governor, statewide offices, and the legislature.
Georgia campaign reports search ↗Transparency USA turns Georgia's raw filings into searchable candidate and donor summaries.
Transparency USA — Georgia ↗OpenSecrets tracks PACs, super PACs, and independent spending that never touches a campaign's books.
OpenSecrets ↗Total contributions taken in during the reporting period. Big number, but it says nothing about what's left.
What's actually in the bank right now — the best single measure of how much campaign a candidate can still run.
Gifts under $200. A high share usually means broad grassroots support — and donors who can give again.
A candidate's own money, given or loaned to their campaign. Legal and unlimited — candidates can spend as much of their own fortune as they like.
Outside groups that spend on a candidate's behalf. Super PACs can raise unlimited sums but can't coordinate with the campaign — their spending shows up in separate filings.
Individuals can give a federal candidate up to $3,500 per election this cycle; Georgia sets its own per-election caps for state races. Either way, contributions above small thresholds are itemized on the public record — name, employer, amount.
Sources: Georgia Recorder (July 2026 Senate filings) · AJC · Georgia Recorder (May 2026 state filings) · Ballotpedia · Governing. Figures are as reported by campaigns and news outlets on those dates and will change as new reports are filed. Peach State Votes is an independent project — check the official databases above for the latest numbers.