Ossoff says he has no interest in 2028 presidential bid

Georgia race could determine control of US Senate

Sen. Jon Ossoff said Tuesday night at a Georgia Senate debate that he has no interest in running for president in 2028 and is focused on winning re-election, rejecting the broad expectation within his party that he would seek the White House.

“I have zero interest in running for president,” Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, said when asked whether he would serve a full six-year Senate term. “I’m not running for president. I’m running for re-election to the Senate.”

The debate against Collins covered the economy, abortion, public safety, the Epstein files and the war in Iran. Once seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election this fall, Ossoff has, according to most polls, solidified a lead in the contest, a shift that has bolstered prospects for his party to potentially win control of the Senate in the midterm elections.

Ossoff is widely viewed as a potential Democratic front-runner for the 2028 presidential election, alongside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

During the debate, Ossoff attacked Collins for backing Trump administration policies including the tariffs championed by President Trump. Collins defended the tariffs, saying that Georgia farmers have struggled because of imported cotton.

The candidates also sparred over Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire who has donated to Ossoff and whose ties to Jeffrey Epstein were raised by Collins. Hoffman previously told the Journal that he met with Epstein once to raise funds for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and regrets meeting the sex offender. Ossoff responded by saying Trump’s name appears “a thousand times” in the Epstein files.

Candidates who have pledged to serve out their Senate terms have later run for president. Obama repeatedly said during and after his 2004 Senate campaign that he would not run for the White House, then successfully did so in 2008.

Ossoff’s statement Tuesday echoed what he has said before when asked about a presidential bid. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June that he did not have interest in such a run and dismissed 2028 speculation as “fantasy football.”

Ossoff has built a reputation this year as one of the Democrats’ most relentless Trump critics, a posture that has made him a favorite of the party’s base.