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The Accidental Senator

Jon Ossoff has seemingly reinvented himself as a ready-made 2028 presidential candidate, from his new suits and beefier physique to his studied, Obama-like cadence. Inside the Senate, however, colleagues describe a very different Ossoff: quiet, studious, and with surprisingly few close friends in Washington.

Jon Ossoff
Senator Jon Ossoff speaks during a re-election campaign event in Atlanta, GA, February 2026. Photo: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
July 20, 2026

There is seemingly no end to the Democratic wishcasting that Jon Ossoff will run for president in 2028. The 39-year-old first-term Georgia senator may be deep in his tough reelection campaign against Rep. Mike Collins, but MS NOW devotees and Pod Save America fans already imagine him on a much larger stage. His attacks on Donald Trump are direct rather than performative, notably Obama-like, and routinely go viral. In the process, Ossoff has become one of the party’s largest fundraisers and perhaps its most effective messenger—one of the few Democrats who consistently cut through the fractured media environment. In other words, he’s an irresistible combination for a thirsty Democratic base.