Ossoff again says he won't run in 2028. His name is considered anyway

Ossoff again says he won't run in 2028. His name is considered anyway

Jon Ossoff is not running for president in 2028.

Or at least, that's what the first-term Georgia Senator has said over and over again when asked.

Ossoff's name has been getting more attention as he campaigns in a crucial reelection race against MAGA loyalist and election denier Rep. Mike Collins, and he has become one of the newest targets of President Donald Trump.

In a speech in Marietta Wednesday, Trump called Ossoff "Pinky Herman," meaning the 1980's character Pee-wee Herman, and a "terrible Senator." Ossoff, however, rarely responds to the president's personal attacks against him, instead opting to criticize the president over the cost of living, the Iran war and alleged attempts at voter suppression.

Ossoff's also having a moment online. Tiktok videos of Ossoff's campaign speeches, television appearances and questioning during Senate hearings have gone viral with millions of views. A video of Ossoff questioning Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted by the official account of the Democratic Party has more than one million views, with comments ranging from "that's MY Senator" to "Ossoff 2028!" to "He looks .... presidential" to "he speaks like Obama."

The senator has said repeatedly he will not run for higher office in 2028, instead focusing on the state of Georgia. That doesn't stop others from testing out the waters for him.

Emerson polls Ossoff in 2028 for the first time

In an Emerson College poll released on July 23, Jon Ossoff's name was included as a possible option for the Democratic nominee for president in 2028 for the first time in their data.

While names like Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear have been floated for months, Ossoff is a late-comer among potential nominees. He's already one of the frontrunners.

Ossoff was polling at 13% to be the nominee in 2028, behind only Pete Buttigieg at 19% and Newsom at 17%. Ossoff was tied with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and above Kamala Harris at 8%, Beshear at 7%, Josh Shapiro at 5%, JB Pritzker at 3% and Ro Khanna at 2%. "Someone else" was polling at 3% while "undecided" matched Ossoff at 13%.

In a call with press on July 23, Ossoff spoke about his opponent's ongoing scandals, and said he could believe Collins did not appear with Trump during his Georgia event in order to protect the president from having to answer to Collins' record. When asked whether Ossoff's anti-corruption message is resonating outside of the state, Ossoff said "I'm focused on Georgia, and as I've said, I have zero interest in running for president in 2028."

Even without Ossoff, the field for Democrats is much larger than that of the Republicans, who are choosing a successor not only to the presidency, but the MAGA movement.

Vice President JD Vance leads Republicans at 39%, which is down from previous polls of 52% support around this time last year. He's followed by Marco Rubio at 38%, Ron DeSantis at 5% and "undecided" at 9%.

Democrats have major lead going into November

Ossoff may not be looking ahead to the 2028 race, but he is focused on his reelection campaign in November. Early polling in Georgia has shown Ossoff with a strong lead over Collins, as the representative faces a House ethics investigation and accusations he associates with and funds a white supremacist online personality, who is also his son-in-law.

And he's not alone. Emerson polling shows Democrats on Congressional ballots across the nation up 11% over Republicans going into the 2026 midterms.

Democrats are polling at 53%, while Republicans are polling at 42%. Democrats are up significantly from July of 2025 and Republicans have had fluctuating support, but stayed at or around the 40% mark for the entire year, according to the polls.

Overall, Americans also said the United States government was spending too much on aid to Israel, with 61% agreeing. Among Democrats this sentiment was 85% while it was down at 31% for Republicans.

Emerson also polled support of data centers, and 63% of Americans oppose centers being built in or near their communities. This is up from 42% in December of 2025.

The poll was conducted between July 19 and 20, 2026, with margins of error +/- 2.9 percent. Each data set was weighted by gender, education, race, age, party registration, and region based on U.S. Census parameters and voter file data, according to Emerson.

Irene Wright covers Georgia politics as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY's Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ossoff again says he won't run in 2028. His name is considered anyway