(AFP) – Democrat Jon Ossoff’s reelection Tuesday to the Senate in the southern state of Georgia will fuel speculation over a 2028 presidential run by one of the party’s young rising stars. While the 39-year-old has said that he has “zero interest in running for president,” his victory in Georgia bolsters his status in the party two years before the next presidential vote.
NBC News and CBS News called the race in Ossoff’s favor, as he fended off a challenge from Republican Mike Collins in a state that President Donald Trump won in 2024. The victory does not mean the Democratic Party gained a seat in the 100-member Senate, but it was nevertheless good, early news for Democrats on a night that pointed increasingly to a wave of defeats for Republicans.
In a spirited appearance in Georgia’s capital of Atlanta, Ossoff painted Democratic midterm election gains as a rebuke of “the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame duck President Donald J. Trump.” “Tonight, we’ve struck a necessary and undeniable blow on behalf of justice and progress,” he told a jubilant crowd. Some of his supporters, including 26-year-old nurse Gracie Surface, told AFP that she hopes he runs for president. “We need him. We need some young blood,” she said after casting her vote in Atlanta.
Ossoff, whose rolled-up shirt sleeves and youthful vibe make him a natural media star, has already drawn comparisons to former president Barack Obama, who appeared on the campaign trail to support him. Ossoff has also captured attention by homing in on alleged corruption in the Trump administration and mocking the Republican president’s behavior. His comments on Trump’s loyal and omnipresent 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp, in particular, made headlines and drew Trump’s ire over the summer.
– White House anger –
“The president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff told a campaign rally in August. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar,” Ossoff added. His comments thrust Harp further into the spotlight, setting the internet alight — and angering the White House. Trump has since dismissed Ossoff as a “Pee-wee Herman lookalike,” while White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called the lawmaker “the biggest cuck loser in politics,” using internet slang for a sexually submissive man.
Ossoff’s supporters praise his authenticity and ability to transcend partisan divides to bring people together across party lines. He shows the “sign of a true leader,” said Catherine Urbain, who works in the healthcare sector.
– Obama comparisons –
“When he speaks, I think of Barack Obama,” said Mary, a canvasser in her 60s who did not give her last name. “I think it’s because he’s empathetic. He’s real,” she said. Obama, the first Black US president, remains hugely popular within the Democratic Party. Others like Jan Callum, a 77-year-old retired teacher, said Ossoff is “very articulate” but added that it is difficult to compare between the politicians.
Still, Obama’s travel to rally support for Ossoff has given further substance to a comparison earlier drawn by The New York Times. Urbain reminisced on attending a rally for former Democratic nominee Kamala Harris two years ago when Ossoff took the stage. “When I heard him speak then, I was like: ‘This man is phenomenal. He’s going to be president,'” she recalled. “I feel he’s authentic, he cares but also that he’s not scared to stand up,” she added. “I feel that he’s one of the few that really doesn’t let Trump get away.”
Ossoff made a major political breakthrough in 2021, flipping a Republican-held Senate seat as he won a runoff election. At 33, he became the youngest senator for that legislative term. Previously, he was an aide to civil rights icon John Lewis, and before entering politics, he ran a documentary film production firm, focusing particularly on corruption.
– Elodie Soinard with Beiyi Seow in Washington
© 2024 AFP
