A decorated Vietnam War veteran who once sat as Senator Jon Ossoff’s personal guest at the U.S. Capitol is now appearing in a political advertisement accusing the Georgia Democrat of betraying veterans — a dramatic reversal that highlights the contentious final days of the state’s Senate race.
Al Lipphardt, a Purple Heart recipient from Stone Mountain, Georgia, was Ossoff’s invited guest to President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress in March 2025. Now, just days before the November 3 election, he’s the face of a new digital ad from Rep. Mike Collins, Ossoff’s Republican challenger, claiming the incumbent “didn’t serve us.”
“I’m a Vietnam veteran. Purple Heart recipient. That’s me, with Jon Ossoff. I was his guest at the capitol last year,” Lipphardt says in the ad, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News. “When Ossoff said he’d stand with veterans, I believed him. Then he voted against funding for veterans, and then he took credit anyway.”
From Capitol Guest to Campaign Critic
The ad, titled “Didn’t Serve Us,” centers on Lipphardt’s accusation that Ossoff publicly touted securing record funding for Georgia military installations before ultimately voting against the measure. “I thought I could trust him, then I found out I can’t. I served my country, but Ossoff didn’t serve us,” the veteran continues in the spot.
Lipphardt now chairs the Veterans for Mike coalition supporting Collins’s campaign.
The controversy stems from Ossoff’s handling of military construction funding that included provisions for Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. According to the Collins campaign, Ossoff championed funding for a new elementary school at Fort Benning, infrastructure improvements at Fort Stewart, military pay raises, and enhancements to Georgia’s foster care system.
The Vote That Changed Everything
While Ossoff supported the military construction provisions as a standalone measure, he voted against final passage when the funding was rolled into a larger appropriations package. That appropriations bill became entangled in what turned into a record-breaking government shutdown that finally ended on November 12 — without Ossoff’s support.
The senator’s vote against the final package, despite having secured the military construction funding within it, forms the basis of Lipphardt’s accusation that Ossoff “took credit anyway” for provisions he ultimately opposed.
When Fox News Digital questioned the Ossoff campaign about the apparent contradiction in July, a spokesperson defended the senator’s position while still claiming credit for the budget increase.
“Let’s be clear: Georgia’s massive 2026 military construction budget, the highest in 15 years, is a direct and undeniable result of Senator Ossoff’s work as the senior Democrat on the Military Construction subcommittee,” the spokesperson stated.
Health Care vs. Military Funding
The Ossoff campaign framed the senator’s vote as a stand against Republican health care policies included in the broader legislation. “Senator Ossoff makes no apology for having tried to stop Mike Collins from doubling premiums for more than a million Georgians and throwing 300,000 off their health insurance,” the spokesperson said, referencing caps on federal health subsidies that Republicans supported.
The explanation suggests Ossoff faced a choice between supporting military construction funding he had championed and opposing what he characterized as harmful health care provisions affecting hundreds of thousands of Georgians.
The Collins campaign rejected this framing entirely, painting Ossoff’s actions as a betrayal of veterans who trusted him.
Campaign Trail Battle Lines
“Al Lipphardt answered his country’s call and served with honor. Jon Ossoff answered to the radical left and failed Georgia’s veterans,” said Meyer Siegfried, a spokesperson for the Collins campaign. “Ossoff invited a Purple Heart veteran to the Capitol, promised to stand with him, then voted against them and took the credit.”
Siegfried added: “Mike Collins will stand with veterans when it counts.”
The ad’s timing — just days before election day — suggests the Collins campaign views veterans and military families as a crucial demographic in what’s expected to be a closely contested race. Georgia has significant military presence with multiple installations across the state, making defense and veterans issues particularly salient for voters.
Political Implications
The personal nature of the attack, featuring someone who was literally photographed alongside Ossoff as his guest at a major congressional event, adds emotional weight to the criticism. The image of Lipphardt sitting with Ossoff provides visual proof of their former relationship, making his current opposition more striking.
For Ossoff, the controversy illustrates the political perils of voting against large omnibus spending bills that contain both provisions a lawmaker supports and opposes. While the senator can point to his role in securing the military construction funding, his ultimate vote against the package opens him to attacks from opponents.
The dispute also reflects broader tensions in congressional appropriations, where individual members often find themselves supporting specific provisions while opposing the final package due to other controversial elements. That legislative reality, however, can be difficult to explain to voters in a 30-second political ad.
With election day rapidly approaching, both campaigns are making their final pitches to Georgia voters. The Collins campaign is clearly betting that Lipphardt’s personal testimony will resonate with veterans and military families who might otherwise support the Democratic incumbent.
Whether this late-stage attack ad moves the needle in a state that has become increasingly competitive in recent election cycles remains to be seen. But the symbolism of a Purple Heart recipient who once believed in Ossoff enough to attend a presidential address as his guest now actively campaigning against him provides the Collins team with a powerful closing argument.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/30/exclusive-purple-heart-recipient-accuses-jon-ossoff-of-abandoning-veterans-in-georgia-senate-race-ad/