The key 2026 Senate battleground race to flip the seat of Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., came under closer scrutiny on Veterans Day, as the National Republican Senatorial Committee hit the "radical leftist" for using "veterans as political props."
"Jon Ossoff is a radical leftist who says one thing to veterans in Georgia and another in D.C.," NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement Tuesday.
"Ossoff cares more about appeasing his far-left base than delivering for Georgia's veterans and military families."
The NRSC statement came in a memo targeting Ossoff in an ongoing campaign for a key 2026 Senate race that is expected to draw as much national attention as it did on Jan. 5, 2021 – when Georgia Democrats flipped both Senate seats from Republican control on the eve of Jan. 6.
"While the NRSC is using Veterans Day for dirty political attacks, Sen. Ossoff is focused on honoring veterans and their families for their service," an Ossoff campaign spokesperson told Newsmax in response when reached for comment, declining to address myriad allegations.
The NRSC previously accused Ossoff of "stolen valor," alleging he "lied to Georgia veterans about 'championing' the VA Home Loan Reform Act when in reality, he had nothing to do with the bill."
"Jon Ossoff talks a big game to Georgia veterans when the cameras are rolling, but when free healthcare for illegals is on the line, he betrays them in Washington," Puglia wrote in a statement last month. "Ossoff won't have to deal with the consequences of his shutdown, but Georgia's men and women in uniform will."
Sen. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., the lead sponsor of the VA Home Loan Reform Act, had also criticized Ossoff's pandering to veterans as a "lie."
"This is a bald faced LIE," Van Orden wrote on X in September. "@SenOssoff had absolutely nothing to do with this bill, and I mean nothing.
"He did not even VOTE for it, it passed by UC. This disgusting and shameful behavior must stop. Veterans are not political props."
The NRSC released a digital ad, titled, "Jon Ossoff: Stealing Valor at Our Veterans' Expense" and previously released another, titled, "Jon Ossoff Doesn't Champion Veterans, He Exploits Them."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.