Republicans target vulnerable Senate Democrat over Los Angeles rioting
FIRST ON FOX: The rioting in Los Angeles has quickly made its way onto the campaign trail.
Republican Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia, who a month ago launched a Senate campaign in the 2026 race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, on Wednesday went up with a new ad targeting the senator over the unrest in the nation's second-most populous city.
Aiming to extinguish escalating protests in Los Angeles sparked by immigration raids carried out by ICE at his administration's direction, President Donald Trump sent in National Guard troops and even mobilized Marines. The unrest and the moves by Trump have dominated national headlines for days.
"Rule of law is on the line," are the words seen over visuals of the rioting in the streets of Los Angeles in the campaign spot. "Are we a nation of anarchy or law and order?"
THE POLITICS OF TRUMP'S MOVE TO QUELL ANTI-ICE UNREST IN LOS ANGELES
The ad then argues, "A nation on the brink and Jon Ossoff is MIA" before charging that "Jon Ossoff is for they/them."
The spot's claim that Ossoff "is MIA" is a reference to what Carter's team says is a lack of a response or a statement, to date, by Ossoff over the unrest in Los Angeles.
Ossoff's Senate office says he is currently on leave – for a very good reason.
The office told Fox News that the senator and his wife "welcomed a baby daughter 12 days ago and he is out on paternity leave."
CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE ANTI-ICE PROTESTS IN LOS ANGELES
The charge in the ad that "Ossoff is for they/them" is a reference to the senator's continued use of pronouns on his social media page on X, formerly Twitter. Republicans have regularly criticized the use of pronouns as part of their battle against what they see as "wokeness" in the U.S.
The spot is the third by Carter – who has represented coastal Georgia in the House for over a decade – to target Ossoff, who is considered the most vulnerable Democratic senator running for re-election in next year's midterms. Carter's campaign told Fox News that it's spending six figures to run the digital spot statewide in Georgia.
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Ossoff, who was first elected to the Senate in a January 2021 runoff election, is also being targeted in a new ad by the America One PAC, which is aligned with GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
"Who’s side is Jon Ossoff on?" asks the narrator in the commercial. "Ossoff voted with Biden and Kamala to open our borders. Now he’s fighting to keep illegal aliens on Medicaid."
The narrator ends the ad by claiming that "Ossoff’s on their side, not yours."
Cotton, a rising star in the GOP and in the Republican Senate leadership, is increasing his efforts to help his party increase its current 53-47 majority in the chamber in next year's elections.
"This is just the beginning of what we're planning to do to help Senate Republicans not only hold, but strengthen our majority in 2026," a source in the senator's political orbit told Fox News.