Jon Ossoff Cites Donald Trump's Brad Raffensperger Call to Urge Record Turnout

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff answered a question about federal interference in the state's elections by pointing to Donald Trump's 2021 phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, telling voters the answer is to turn out "in unprecedented numbers."

Ossoff, who faces Republican Representative Mike Collins on November 3, was responding to a reporter as Georgia's early voting began Tuesday. The reporter, who had just come from an event with Senator Raphael Warnock and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, noted that Bottoms had specifically talked about the National Guard and asked whether Ossoff shared concerns about federal interference in Georgia's elections.

Ossoff did not address the National Guard. He went to 2020 instead.

"The last time Donald Trump lost the presidency, he tried to seize the presidency and overturn the election," he said. "And that's why it's so important that we vote in unprecedented numbers."

What Ossoff Said About Trump and the Raffensperger Call

Ossoff opened with the call. "You all remember the call that Donald Trump made to Brad Raffensperger, in which Donald Trump demanded that Georgia's top election official, quote, find him exactly the number of votes that Donald Trump needed to win in a state that Donald Trump lost," he said.

The "quote" is his paraphrase. On the January 2, 2021, recording, Trump told Raffensperger, "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have," KQED reported. Trump lost Georgia by nearly 12,000 votes. Raffensperger told the president on the call that "the data you have is wrong."

Georgia's machine count and its hand recount both confirmed Biden's 2020 win, CBS News reported.

The criminal case that grew out of the call is over. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed the Fulton County racketeering case against Trump and his co-defendants in November 2025 after Pete Skandalakis, the prosecutor who took it over, argued the alleged conduct "was conceived in Washington, D.C., not the State of Georgia," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ossoff ended with a call to action. "It's up to citizens to use our constitutional rights to vote in unprecedented numbers, to vote early in person, make a plan to vote right now," he said, "and ensure that we win decisively, so no meddling from this White House can foil the will of the people."

The National Guard Question in Georgia

The Guard issue in Georgia came out of the governor's race. In a debate, Bottoms accused Republican nominee Rick Jackson of saying the Georgia National Guard would be called in during the election. She pointed to audio in which Jackson told a voter, "Well, we'll get National Guard — Gov. Kemp is going to watch it for us," the Savannah Morning News reported. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first obtained that rally audio in August. Jackson called Bottoms's claim "a complete falsehood," and his campaign later said he never suggested troops at polling places.

Nationally, Trump has said he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines after 2020, Votebeat reported. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has described concerns about deployments as "categorically false, will not happen." Federal law already bars stationing "troops or armed men" at polling places.

Warnock wants to go further. In June he co-introduced the Protect Our Polls Act, which would require Congress to approve any deployment of troops or federal agents to election sites. "Our democracy is on the line," he said at the time.

Where Ossoff's Race Stands

Ossoff leads Collins 52.7 percent to 42.8 percent, a margin of 9.9 points, in PolitiKool's polling average. Trump is scheduled to campaign in northwest Georgia on Friday.

The national mood favors Ossoff's party. Democrats lead by 7.8 points in PolitiKool's generic ballot average, and Trump's approval stands at 37.8 percent in PolitiKool's average. Ossoff opened his first debate with Collins by tying the congressman to Trump on tariffs and health care.

What 'Unprecedented' Turnout Would Take

Georgia has set a high bar. A record 5.3 million Georgians voted in the 2024 general election, and about 4 million of them voted early, GPB reported.

Early voting runs through October 30, and the first statewide totals will show whether Ossoff's pitch is landing.