Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff's first reelection bid, set to be a marquee 2026 Senate race, has both parties sharpening their knives.

The GOP sees his seat as one of the best opportunities to knock off an incumbent, particularly after President-elect Trump won the state last year.

But Democrats see Ossoff as a strong incumbent who could benefit from a midterm year, when the opposite party of the president’s historically has gained seats.

Both parties also agree neither side can take the high-stakes seat for granted.

“It's not clear what Georgia is right now,” said political strategist Fred Hicks, “other than a battleground state, an expensive battleground state, and one that will serve, I think, as a sort of an opening bell, if you will, for 2028 …”

Ossoff is no stranger to competitive — and expensive — campaigns. He narrowly lost a House bid in 2017 for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.

Ossoff later made a run for former Sen. David Perdue’s (R-Ga.) seat in 2020, forcing the Georgia Republican into a runoff and winning his seat in 2021.

The first millennial elected to the Senate, Ossoff has maintained a largely low profile. His office has boasted that he passed a record number of stand-alone bills into law as a first-term senator in his first two years in office, and he’s worked on legislation ranging from strengthening oversight into the Federal Bureau of Prisons to mental health care access for military families and service members.

He also received a plum assignment on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and members on both........

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