Georgia Republican Senate candidate Buddy Carter dropped a new television ad Wednesday, part of a seven-figure blitz that includes the statewide television and streaming spots as well as direct mail aimed at boosting his name ID.
Carter, a fifth-term congressmember, is looking to differentiate himself from a crowded field of candidates to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff that includes fellow Rep. Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley, a political novice hand-picked by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who officially endorsed Dooley in next year’s marquee Senate race.
The Carter ad touts him as a “trusted MAGA warrior” and leans fully into culture war issues, including a championing of bans on trans people from girls sports and serving as a staunch ally of President Donald Trump on illegal border crossings. The ad also splices remarks from Trump from a campaign rally in September 2024 in Savannah, where the then-presidential candidate said “Buddy Carter…warrior…great guy.”
The adds also notes Carter has “racked up win after win” while in Washington, including the passage of the Laken Riley Act, a law named after a University of Georgia student slain by a migrant and a bill Collins was a lead sponsor of.
The Georgia Senate contest is expected to be among the most expensive races in next year’s midterms and is a key race for Democrats to hold in a state Trump won last year.
A poll last month from TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and and Politics showed the contest for the GOP nomination remains relatively tight, with Collins at 27 percent, Carter at 20 percent and Dooley, who launched his bid last month at 8 percent, with nearly 40 percent of Republican voters undecided.
