Jon Ossoff

To see why Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, is being floated as a 2028 presidential contender, just view the liberal darling's 30-minute campaign speech at a May 31 rally in Atlanta.

Ossoff roused the crowd by contrasting his vast view of patriotism with the nationalism of President Donald Trump.

"This is what small men like Donald Trump and JD Vance and Stephen Miller will never understand," he said. "That our national greatness flows not through our blood or our genes but through our ideas."

The oration – Ossoff's engaging the crowd with a series of questions about whether they're ready to win – is reminiscent of former President Barack Obama's famed stump speeches. Viral clips of his re-election campaign rallies are circulated widely as he outlines an anti-corruption vision from his past as an investigative journalist. His rhetorical gifts, youth and physical looks – viewed as visually striking by some onlookers – draw comparisons to Obama and President John F. Kennedy.

The burgeoning public interest has stirred speculation that a 2028 run for the White House lies ahead – but first he has to win reelection in a state Trump won in 2024. Ossoff ranks third, behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, in Democrats' potential 2028 field on the controversial prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket.

New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg recently observed that a lab-invented 2028 Democratic nominee would look a lot like him: "He's young and handsome, with a picture-perfect family," Goldberg wrote. "He's a Southerner from a reddish state."

At 39, Ossoff is the nation's youngest senator. He's White and Jewish, but he has appealed to Black voters and criticized Israel, both attributes that could help in a racially diverse party largely opposed to Israel's conduct in Gaza and its joint war with the Trump administration in Iran.

Ossoff's star has risen because he fights back against the Trump administration with an uplifting message of unity, said former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who campaigned with Ossoff during her failed 2024 campaign to unseat Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

"I think that's what Americans overall are looking for: Someone that has that strength, someone that has the ability to connect and also someone that's delivering a message of hope," Mucarsel-Powell, now executive director of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, said of Ossoff.

But he has so far pushed back on the buzz. Ossoff is the father of two daughters younger than 5 years old with his wife, Dr. Alisha Kramer, an obstetrician-gynecologist, which he cited when dismissing questions from the press about any presidential ambitions as he seeks re-election.

The stakes in Georgia are high for Democrats. An Ossoff loss would create a much tougher map for the party to flip control of the Senate, in which Republicans currently hold a 53-47 edge. He is the only Democratic incumbent running in 2026 that represents a state Trump won, and Republicans view their quest to oust him as a top pickup opportunity.

However, a victory in November may signal to Democratic voters and donors that Georgia's junior senator successfully appeals to a broad coalition and could be a viable presidential candidate. "What Ossoff has shown in his political career by winning a seat in Georgia is that he can speak to a diverse group of voters, whether that's Democrats or Republicans, and so I think that if he wins this race, he will be considered a serious presidential contender," Democratic comms strategist Rotimi Adeoye told USA TODAY.

In what may be a sign of Ossoff’s reluctance to discuss a 2028 campaign for president, his campaign declined USA TODAY's request for an interview.

'A really interesting candidate'

If Ossoff decides to run for president, he will likely face better-known opponents such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, all associated with the Democratic Party establishment. Ocasio-Cortez hails from the party's left wing.

Ossoff could bring an asset that other 2028 contenders lack: the Obama-like ability to unite the party's left-wing and center, according to Lily Geismer, a Claremont McKenna College expert on the history of Democratic Party politics.

"I think what makes him a really interesting candidate is ... he's sort of doing both things," Geismer said. Ossoff has embraced policy positions in the Senate that are initially unpopular but later attract support among the Democratic base, Geismer said, like his 2024 vote with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, to block a weapons transfer to Israel.

Ossoff also seems more authentic than 2028 frontrunners like Newsom, according to Geismer.

Newsom, she said, "just does not exude an authenticity," while Ossoff's viral campaign rally videos have resonated in the same style as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

'Kennedy-esque in his energy'

For decades, Democratic presidential nominees, including both Clintons, Al Gore and former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have been the candidates who drew wide support from Black voters, especially Black women, in the primaries.

Ossoff boasts a close relationship with Black Democrats in his home state. When he was 16, he wrote a letter to then-Rep. John Lewis, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, and later interned in Lewis' office. He then worked for Rep. Hank Johnson, also a Black congressman in the Atlanta area.

Ossoff reminded Lewis, a giant in Georgia politics, of President John F. Kennedy.

"To seek out and be mentored by Black men is not something you usually see from White men," said Qondi Ntini, who in 2020 founded a viral online fundraising movement, Thirst for Democracy, about Ossoff being attractive.

In 2017, the first high-profile special election of Trump's first term was triggered in a suburban Atlanta congressional district after Rep. Tom Price resigned from his seat to serve as U.S. health and human services secretary.

Once CEO at London-based investigative documentary company Insight Film, Ossoff ran against a Republican opponent 25 years his senior, Karen Handel, then-Georgia's Secretary of State, when he was 29.

Lewis, who marched on Washington in 1963 with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a crowd that June how Ossoff was "smart, young and gifted" like Kennedy.

National Republicans characterized his age as electoral inexperience. One attack ad mocked Ossoff for playful college-era behavior. The spot featured Ossoff and his college A cappella group's own "Star Wars"-themed spoof of Georgetown University's drinking policy.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton lost Price's district to Trump by 1.5 percentage points in 2016, and her party later saw an opportunity to flip the seat.

Ossoff's 2017 campaign inspired suburban women, incensed by Trump, to step into the organizing side of Democratic politics, according to Jen Cox, a real estate agent and single mom who founded a grassroots Facebook group called Pave It Blue to help flip the district. In response to Trump's win, Cox said Georgians like her stepped off the sidelines to elect Ossoff to a traditionally Republican seat once held by former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"He's just so Kennedy-esque in his energy," said former campaign staffer Juliette Lockman, who credited Ossoff with "speaking so plainly, and in a non-condescending way."

Although Ossoff lost to Handel, he was able to parlay the name recognition, national media attention and grassroots excitement from his failed campaign into a successful Senate run in 2020.

Failed House campaign helped Senate candidate in 2020

In September 2019, Ossoff announced his U.S. Senate campaign against David Perdue. Meanwhile, Perdue's senior counterpart Sen. Johnny Isakson retired, leading Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint business magnate Kelly Loeffler to temporarily replace the longtime lawmaker.

Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the same Atlanta church where Dr. King preached, ran against Loeffler in a special election, meaning both Georgia Senate seats were contested on the same November 2020 ballot in which Biden defeated Trump in the state.

None of the Senate candidates surpassed the 50% threshold required to win, and Ossoff and Warnock headed to a January 2021 runoff against their Republican opponents. The races would determine whether Democrats could control the Senate and enact Biden's agenda. Ossoff beat Perdue, and Warnock prevailed over Loeffler, on Jan. 6, 2021, the same day as the U.S. Capitol riots, which handed Senate control to Democrats.

In the Senate, Ossoff has maintained a low profile during his first term. While other freshman swing seat Democrats such as Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego − both potential 2028 candidates as well − have built national brands as relative moderates, Ossoff has stayed out of the party's factional disputes and remained well-liked among the progressive base.

In the Senate, he has focused on delivering constituent services such as helping small business owners deal with the IRS.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted April 23-29 found Ossoff had 89% job approval rating among Democrats and 20% among Republicans.

Ossoff 'has time' to be president: 'He is not a sure thing' in 2026

Some Democrats think Ossoff's presidential buzz is premature due to the delicate nature of his re-election. Political consultant Robyn Donaldson, who met Ossoff during his 2017 run, noted that it took 20 years to flip Georgia's two Senate seats blue.

Donaldson said "he's a young father, has young children, and he has time." Young Democrats of Georgia advisor Jenn Simmons was blunter in her assessment. "He is not a sure thing" in November, Simmons said.

She added, "Let's be clear: He won by a very thin margin, very thin margin, and that was a runoff in Georgia."

"I think that the conversation about him having 2028 aspirations: Affable, great. Great hair," Simmons said. "The fact that he is next-gen of the legacy of John Lewis, God rest his soul, makes it easier to say, 'Hey, Jon is a great possibility for presidential candidacy,' but we need to win 2026."

Democrats should have a conversation about Ossoff running for president in December, Simmons said.

His allies in Washington say the same. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, told The Hill that Ossoff is "100% laser-focused on the Senate race" but "could be a great president."

Georgia Senate race: Ossoff will face Trump-endorsed Mike Collins

Ossoff will face Rep. Mike Collins, the Republican Senate nominee who beat former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley in a June 16 runoff. Ossoff's online fundraising pitches now refers to him as "MAGA's #1 target."

In a hypothetical matchup, Ossoff led Collins by 7 percentage points in a poll conducted in early April by Echelon Insights. In an Emerson College poll conducted from Feb. 28 to March 2, Ossoff led Collins by 4 percentage points.

A prolific fundraiser, he has the largest war chest of any federal candidate this cycle, with $32.5 million on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The president's party usually faces backlash in a midterm election, which could help Democrats nationwide.

Nonetheless, Ossoff will have to appeal to independents, who will decide the outcome, according to Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professor and expert on Southern politics.

"Democrats, sure, they're gonna vote for Ossoff," Bullock said, but "those individuals who don't identify with the party or identify only weakly, say, as a Republican" are the voters he must court to assure his own re-election.

Republicans are trying to portray Ossoff as too liberal to attract those voters. In a statement, Republican National Committee spokesperson Emma Hall said that "Georgians are done with this woke nutjob," previewing the party's strategy ahead of November.

"Jon Ossoff hides from Georgians because his record is toxic and indefensible, from peddling violent rhetoric to incite his far-left base to forcing men into women's sports to siding with illegals and trying to raise taxes," Hall said.

Given that Trump has a net -5 approval rating in Georgia, Ossoff is pointing to Trump's endorsement of Collins during the Republican runoff, mocking Collins as a nepo baby and pointing to his unpopular positions.

"Donald Trump's handpicked candidate Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars," Ossoff said in a statement June 16. "Collins is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs."

In his victory speech the same night, Collins pointed to his three decades as owner of a family-run trucking business to draw a contrast with Ossoff's relative dearth of private sector experience.

"I know what it’s like to sign the front and back of a paycheck so Georgians can put food on the table and provide for their families. Jon Ossoff doesn’t," Collins said. "You see, I know what it’s like to take Georgia values of hard work, honesty and integrity and a solutions-based approach to Washington, DC, to get things done. Jon Ossoff doesn’t."

Ossoff: 'I've got two young daughters'

Ossoff first went viral the month before his May rally in Atlanta alongside former Mayor Lance Bottoms.

The week after golfer Rory McIlroy won back-to-back Masters tournaments in Augusta, Ossoff spoke to a lively audience in the city. "The measure of our success," Ossoff said, "is not how many of the poorest and most vulnerable families we hunt down and shackle and prison and deport."

He branded Trump and his allies the "Mar-a-Lago mafia" April 18. Ossoff called out bipartisan insider dealings. "Corruption in America runs a lot deeper than Donald Trump," he told the crowd. "Because how does American politics really work? It's coin operated. Money goes in, favors come out."

He appeared on MS NOW programs "The Rachel Maddow Show" and "The Briefing with Jen Psaki," as the hype heightened. He said he has no 2028 plans. "I've got two young daughters," Ossoff told Psaki.

Obama famously shared a similar sentiment with moderator Tim Russert during a January 2006 edition of "Meet the Press" on NBC.