Ossoff leads Collins while Jackson, Bottoms nearly tied in Georgia: Poll

A new poll found Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) leading his GOP opponent Rep. Mike Collins (Ga.) in his reelection battle, while Republican Rick Jackson narrowly leads Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in the Peach State’s gubernatorial race.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and University of Georgia poll reported 48 percent of respondents supported Ossoff’s reelection bid, 40 percent backed Collins and 12 percent were undecided.

The Journal-Constitution noted Ossoff led among women, young people and Black voters, though Collins held leads among people 65 and older and white voters.

Ossoff, the only Senate Democrat running for reelection in a state President Trump won in 2024, is running for his second term following a high-profile 2020 runoff election. He faced off against Collins earlier this month in a debate where the two clashed on the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran.

Collins alleged during the debate certain ads for Ossoff were paid for by a tech billionaire with ties to the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier. The billionaire in question, Reid Hoffman, said last year he was “never a client of Epstein’s and never had any engagement with him other than fundraising for MIT,” referring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ossoff went on the offensive and referenced Collins’s votes against the release of the Epstein files in the summer of 2025 .

“Mike, who on your team advised you to raise the Epstein files? You voted to cover up the evidence,” the senator said. “You should explain that vote to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims right now.”

In the gubernatorial race, 46 percent of poll respondents backed Jackson, 45 percent supported Bottoms and 8 percent remained undecided. Jackson’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error, meaning the candidates are essentially deadlocked.

Bottoms led among independents at 43 percent, while 38 percent were supportive of Jackson and 18 percent of independent respondents were undecided.

The gubernatorial candidates are racing to fill the seat that will be vacated by retiring GOP Gov. Brian Kemp (R) as the contest remains one of the most closely watched races of the 2026 midterm election.

Ahead of Election Day, more than 188,000 Georgians cast their ballots on the first day of early voting, which is about 50,000 more than the number of people who voted early on Day 1 in 2022, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s office.

VoteHub credits the high early turnout to Black voters, who comprise more than 36 percent of votes cast as of Tuesday.

The Journal-Constitution and University of Georgia poll was conducted Oct. 7-15 among 1,000 likely Georgia voters. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points.