August 18 2026 - 6:40pm
Since their 2024 election defeat, Democrats have been desperate for a leader who can help turn the party’s fortunes around. Identifying such a leader has been no easy task.
However, one figure is emerging as a strong contender to bridge these factions: Georgia senator Jon Ossoff. Though he is likely further Left on some social issues than moderates may be comfortable with, and more centrist on matters such as immigration than progressives would prefer, he brings one quality that surely matters to both factions: an ability to effectively take the fight to Trump.
This became apparent over the weekend when Ossoff, who is currently seeking re-election to the Senate, spoke at a campaign rally, criticizing Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran. “And while the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the President sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks,” the senator said. While this line of attack hits Trump on one of his worst issues, it was Ossoff’s next line that drew the ire of the President’s allies: “He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
This was a reference to Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s most trusted aides who has frequently accompanied him on trips to Mar-a-Lago and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Ossoff drew swift backlash from Trumpworld, as he seemed to be implying that the President may again be engaging in marital infidelity. However, some White House aides admitted that there was strong pushback because “the First Lady doesn’t like these types of things” and Trump gets “furious” about personal topics.
Of course, voter disapproval of Trump’s personal conduct has barely dented his political standing during his time in the political limelight. But the White House response reflects that Ossoff knows how to hit Trump where he’s vulnerable — something the President is usually known for doing to his opponents.
Other Democrats have struggled to make their jibes so effective, and to tie these attacks to the everyday issues facing many Americans. At a February campaign event, Ossoff managed this by saying: “We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans… But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class… They are the elites they pretend to hate.” He added: “If you’re Steve Bannon… how do you sell any of this? [Trump] is literally closing rural clinics and hospitals to cut taxes for George Soros and Elon Musk.”
Ossoff has also struck at the absurdity of the President’s continued 2020 election denial. In a confirmation hearing last month for Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton, Ossoff pressed Clayton to answer, under oath, who won that election. After demurring several times, Ossoff asked simply: “Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question? To have to indulge the President’s delusions? We know, you know, everybody in this room knows the truthful answer to that question. Why can you not give it?”
What’s more, Ossoff has many of the attributes that have historically helped his party compete for the White House. At 39, he is the youngest member of the Senate and would represent generational change not just for the Democrats but, if he does run for president, the White House too. He is also a fairly popular senator in a swing state that Trump won two years ago. His penchant for bipartisanship and relatively moderate record in the Senate has invited bipartisan support.
In a Fox News poll last month, Ossoff led his Republican opponent Mike Collins by 13 points, including 10% support from Republicans and a whopping 68% from independents. He also recently earned endorsements from two Republican mayors in the state, with one explaining: “There are times when a person exceeds the party.”
There’s a reason Republicans are taking Ossoff’s rise seriously. If he can unite the warring factions of his party and convince the growing number of Americans who seem ready to turn the page on the Trump era that he’s the guy to do it, he may be a formidable candidate in 2028.
