Even Donald Trump’s fiercest critics agree that he has sharp political instincts. So if Trump spends significant time trying to insult a particular politician, it is reasonable to assume he sees a threat. The fact that Trump has increasingly focused his attention on Jon Ossoff over the past month is clear evidence of the rise of the 39-year-old Jewish senator from Georgia, who is becoming the Democratic Party’s new hope and a prominent name among potential contenders for the 2028 presidential race.
The Democrats have been searching for the “new Barack Obama” for more than a decade. Every public appearance by Obama reminds them of how far the party’s current talent pool is from the political abilities of the first Black president. Ossoff is the latest candidate for the role of heir, and every time Trump calls him “a failed and pathetic Democratic senator, a joke in Washington, an idiot nobody knows,” Democrats feel he could be the person who brings them back from the wilderness.
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Jon Ossoff, 39-year-old Jewish senator from Georgia, who is becoming the Democratic Party’s new hope
(Photo: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
When Ossoff dismantled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a congressional hearing last week over the war in Iran, it seemed even the last holdouts among Democrats had been won over.
In November’s midterm elections, Ossoff will seek another term in the Senate against Republican Mike Collins. Georgia has become a swing state, though it still leans Republican. The race between Ossoff and Collins was expected to be among the closest contests, but about three months before the election, polls give Ossoff an advantage of between 9% and 13%.
This is happening because Ossoff is emerging as a highly talented politician. His speeches are impressive and serious while still producing viral moments. He has focused on the message that “Trump is corrupt and the Trump family is making millions from the presidency while you, the citizens, cannot afford to go to the doctor.”
(Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
His surge in support came after he said in a campaign speech: “But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich... this is the Epstein class, ruling our country. They are the elites they pretend to hate.”
Perhaps his greatest achievement is that he appears to appeal to every faction of the Democratic Party, which is engaged in an internal civil war between the moderate wing and the far left, which has strengthened dramatically in recent primaries. Progressives like his populist, anti-corporate economic messages, moderates like the fact that he avoids the political minefields they believe alienate swing voters, and both sides like the fact that he is young and — with no point pretending otherwise — attractive.
Ossoff’s foreign policy views are slightly to the left of the Democratic establishment but still far from the party’s far-left wing. He has repeatedly expressed support for Israel and a commitment to its security, but he understands that even moderate Democrats oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its policies in Gaza. A year ago, he voted in favor of a resolution blocking the sale of certain weapons to Israel and was among the first Jewish members of Congress to describe the scale of civilian harm in Gaza as a “moral failure.”
For now, at least, Ossoff says he has 'zero interest' in running for president, but that could all change if he wins another Senate term in November’s midterms
(Photo: AFP)
In recent weeks, American pollsters have begun adding Ossoff’s name to their surveys. A recent poll by the Emerson Institute placed him third when it tested Democrats’ preferred candidates for the future 2028 presidential primary: He received 13%, the same as progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. California Gov. Gavin Newsom came in second with 17%, while former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg placed first with 19%. Buttigieg is also seen as someone who could run as the “new Obama.”
For now, at least, Ossoff says he has “zero interest" in running for president, but that could all change if he wins another Senate term in November’s midterms — especially if he does so by a convincing margin in Georgia, a state considered a swing state. After all, two years before the 2008 election, Barack Obama was also insisting he had no intention of running.