Jon Ossoff Is Suspiciously Shy About 2028. Should We Believe Him? - Newsweek

His first Senate reelection bid was always bound to be fraught. It is only a recent phenomenon that Democrats have started winning statewide in Georgia. He needed a runoff to secure victory in the first place. He’d built a resume of bipartisan credentials and a base of support from across the aisle. Against a weak MAGA opponent, he was launched into political stardom. And, as expected, the Midterms yielded just that.

Sound familiar? Read that list in the year 2026, and Senator Jon Ossoff immediately comes to mind. However, the same story was the case back in 2022 when Senator Raphael Warnock was running his campaign.

Chatter around Ossoff’s 2028 prospects has become such a fixture this Midterm cycle that Warnock’s status as a contender has become a bit of an afterthought on the national level. On Kalshi, Ossoff’s 14 percent chance of winning the Democratic Presidential Primary puts him behind only California Governor Gavin Newsom. Meanwhile, Warnock posts just two percent odds. A similar story holds true on Polymarket.

Should Ossoff post a resounding margin of victory in Tuesday’s midterms, the odds are only likely to climb, and calls for him to run in 2028 are only likely to get louder. Between his telegenic presence, good looks, and laser-focus on corruption, many Democrats see Ossoff as the man of the moment and a perfect foil to Trumpism.

However, Ossoff has stated multiple times—often in an eyebrow-raising, overt manner—that he is not interested in running for president. In an October debate with his Republican opponent, Congressman Mike Collins, he pledged to serve all six years of his term. Ossoff said: "I have zero interest in running for president. I'm not running for president. I'm running for reelection to the Senate."

Nonetheless, media outlets—including this one—have noted that former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton made similar pledges. Many are just waiting for Ossoff to post an eye-popping margin on Election Day that will allow him to say, "I had no choice but to run." And, even if he doesn’t say that out loud, party leaders may try to put him in that position.

Despite all the buzz, however, this reporter found, while reporting Newsweek’s cover profile, that to indeed be where Ossoff’s mind is now. Speaking with over half-a-dozen Georgia politicos to understand why—in the face of such overt public desire—Ossoff would stay so firm on this, the answer kept coming back to Warnock.

"Ossoff is a very thoughtful, prepared person, so he knew that question was coming," a Georgia strategist, who knows both men, told Newsweek. "I think probably why he said that is because they've had that discussion and he knows that Warnock is looking at it, so he took himself out of the equation out of respect for their relationship." The strategist added: "I read Ossoff saying that as probably the clearest sign that Senator Warnock is really thinking about this."

The majority of sources interviewed for this story believed that Ossoff would not run if Warnock ran and vice versa. A spokesperson for Ossoff declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Warnock said he is focused on electing Democrats in 2026 and not on 2028.

Right now, due to the fact he is running for reelection, it makes sense for Ossoff to allow Warnock to test the waters as a presidential contender before a question of which of them should run must be forced. After all, the two men have a close relationship, referring to each other as "brother." During the 2020-2021 cycle, their respective campaigns were intertwined.

The consensus, reflected among Georgia Democrats more broadly, is that Warnock helped boost Ossoff’s campaign. Despite both being political novices, during the 2020 campaign, Warnock served, and continues to serve, as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

Though Ossoff gained national prominence for his ultimately unsuccessful House race in 2017, Warnock’s standing within Georgia, especially among its African American community, was long sustained. In turn, Warnock secured 51.04 percent of the vote in 2020 while Ossoff notched 50.61 percent. Were both to run in the presidential campaign, the strategist believes they would be splitting their core voter bases. And when it comes to running, Warnock has struck a different tone than Ossoff.

Unlike Ossoff, Warnock has declined to rule out the possibility when asked where he is at in making a decision. He said he hadn’t had serious conversations with family but added, "Look, I know that in a matter of months…I’ll be in a race." (In 2028, he is up for reelection to the Senate). That answer came amid a campaign stop to rally alongside Democratic Senate candidate Chris Pappas in the presidential primary battleground of New Hampshire.

"We don't know exactly what Warnock wants, and we don't know what Ossoff wants," a Georgia Democratic leader who knows both men told Newsweek. "However, I would expect that Ossoff would defer at least a little bit to Warnock."

Ossoff, at 39, is 18 years younger than Warnock. While both men have young children, Warnock’s kids are 9 and 7, while Ossoff’s are 4 and 1. In many ways, the moment is prime for Ossoff in a political sense, but in a personal sense, that’s another story.

Ossoff rose to power thanks in part to his commitment to the work. Launching a presidential campaign while Warnock is still considering his options could cause Georgians to see him in a different light. "I think there’s a certain level of disrespect people will feel around the fact that people are even talking about Ossoff before Warnock," a Georgia Democratic Party member told Newsweek.

"You could really argue that either man’s independent coalition is stronger," Saba Long, a veteran of Georgia politics and host of the "Where the Party At?" political podcast, told Newsweek. "Warnock's advantage is he can often be seen as this moral voice and a moral counter to Trump, which is a little bit different from Ossoff, who has been a very direct political counter."

Of course, the debate between the two strikes a very different tone depending on the midterm results. How well Ossoff performs will no doubt shape perceptions around and create a sense of intrigue about what happens next. More consequentially, though, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms must win her governor’s race.

Should she lose to Republican businessman Rick Jackson, a Republican could be appointed to fill either Ossoff’s or Warnock’s Senate seats should they seek the White House. And such a prospect is very unappealing to national Democratic Donors, who exercise immense influence in the era of big-money politics. Currently, the governor’s contest appears neck and neck. Jackson posts a one-point lead over Bottoms in the RealClear Polling average.

To push either man to true front-runner status, they are going to need enthusiasm from their core southern bases. Not only could the prospect of a Republican filling their seats jeopardize that but acrimonious jockeying for the 2028 nomination could as well. Still, when allies of both men look at their senator, they see a future president. And it is clear that pressure will mount on both to get involved in the race. Ossoff surely understands that dynamic, so, until Warnock makes a decision on his bid, it may just make most sense for Ossoff to seek political gratification in the U.S. Senate.

"He may genuinely believe that he is different in the Senate than the rest of the Democratic caucus, that he has the ability to perhaps get things done, to talk to Republicans," Vasu Abhiraman, a voting rights attorney involved in Georgia Democratic politics, told Newsweek. "Maybe he really enjoys his perch, and, six years later, he’s still going to be super young."

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