Vice President JD Vance torched vulnerable Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as a “far-left liberal” during a visit to the state Thursday to promote President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.
Vance hammered Ossoff for his left-wing voting record and fierce opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which he, along with every Senate Democrat, voted against in July. Republicans are expected to make Ossoff’s vote against the legislation’s tax relief components — projected to give Georgians thousands of dollars in higher take home pay — a top campaign issue during the 2026 Senate race.
The vice president sought to remind voters that Ossoff’s voting record does not align with the moderate image he is likely to craft during his reelection bid. Ossoff earlier this year voted against both banning biological males from participating in women’s sports and overturning a de facto ban on new gas-powered car sales.
“So when you watch those TV commercials in a year and Jon Ossoff, I tell you, he’s going to pretend to be a reasonable moderate,” Vance said during a speech at a refrigeration manufacturing facility in Peachtree, Georgia. “But in reality, while Jon Ossoff pretends to be a moderate when he comes to Atlanta, he is a far-left liberal in Washington, DC, and that’s the only place that it actually counts if you’re a United States Senator.”
“Because Jon Ossoff, whatever he pretends to be in his television commercials, he doesn’t give a damn about the Third District, and he doesn’t give a damn about the people of Georgia, but we do, and we’re going to fight for you every single day,” Vance continued.
The average Georgia taxpayer will see their federal taxes reduced $3,086 in 2026 due to the tax reforms in Republicans’ budget bill, according to analysis published by the Tax Foundation on Aug. 13.
Ossoff, however, has referred to the law as an “unmitigated catastrophe” for Georgians, citing the legislation’s reforms to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
PEACHTREE CITY, GEORGIA – AUGUST 21: US Vice President JD Vance waves to supporters of President Donald Trump at an event on August 21, 2025 in Peachtree City, Georgia. Vance spoke about Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Ossoff also characterized Vance’s visit to the Peach State as “damage control” due to a spate of recent polling showing the president’s sweeping legislation is underwater with voters. Republicans argue individual components of the bill, such as shielding certain Americans from taxation on tips and overtime pay, will ultimately be hit with voters once Americans file their tax returns during the next calendar year.
“Vance is being sent on this little errand to come and play defense in Georgia, defending a bill they can’t defend trying to sell the unsellable,” Ossoff said Wednesday on MSNBC. “And let me just say this about JD Vance … his legacy forever now is casting the decisive vote to throw millions of Americans off health care, throw seniors out of their nursing home beds all to serve the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.”
Vance fiercely pushed back on Ossoff’s claims, arguing that the only group who will see their Medicaid benefits cut are illegal immigrants.
“I happen to believe that Medicaid belongs to American workers and American families,” Vance said during his speech. “I happen to believe that when you are struggling in this country, we are generous people, and we want to help you, but we want to help the people who have the legal right to be in the United States of America.”
“That’s what the Democrats never talk about,” Vance continued. “Why don’t we ask Jon Ossoff, ‘why did you vote to raise taxes? Why did you vote to keep illegal aliens on Medicaid? Why did you vote to bankrupt Medicare? Why did you vote to make sure that people who work overtime and earn their income from tips pay as much to the federal government as possible?”
Defeating Ossoff during the midterms is crucial for Senate Republicans’ efforts to expand their 53-seat majority. Georgia Republicans have yet to unite around a challenger following Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp — viewed as the party’s top recruit — choosing to pass on the race.
All three well-known declared GOP Georgia Senate candidates — former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley and Georgia Republican Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins — all spoke at the Thursday event before Vance where they each defended the president’s “big, beautiful” law and hammered Ossoff’s voting record.
Collins has established an early lead over the crowded field with 27% of the vote though a significant chunk of Republican midterm voters are undecided, according to an August TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) first reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
A spokesperson for Ossoff referred the DCNF to comments the Georgia senator delivered earlier Thursday slamming Vance’s visit to the Atlanta metro area.
“I think it is embarrassing for the Vice President to be coming to Georgia to sell a policy that is already resulting in harm to hospitals in the state of Georgia, that’s projected to throw more than 100,000 people off of health care in the state of Georgia,” Ossoff said. “Just this week, Evans Memorial Hospital in Southeast Georgia said that because of the bill that the Vice President is here to defend, they’re going to have a $3.5 million financial hole next year. That hospital here in Georgia is now warning that they may have to cut the ICU.”
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