Arabic version: جون أوسوف يحظى باهتمام ديمقراطي رئاسي

According to ABC News, Georgia senator Jon Ossoff is increasingly being discussed as a potential Democratic presidential contender following the US midterm elections. The 39-year-old has just won a second Senate term in Georgia, a swing state expected to be an important battleground in 2028. Public discussion has suggested the Republican contest could involve Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance, while party insiders say more than two dozen Democrats may be considering White House runs.

An AtlasIntel poll conducted days before election day found Ossoff holding a lead of less than one percentage point over representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among Democratic voters asked whom they would support in 2028 primaries. The result marked a shift from a year earlier, when Ossoff was not included in presidential contender forecasts. Despite the speculation, he has denied planning an Oval Office bid, saying during an October debate that he had “zero interest” in running for office.

Ossoff has become a rising figure among younger Democratic politicians through direct criticism of US President Donald Trump. At rallies, videos of his speeches have been edited and posted online quickly by young aides to reach younger voters, earning him the label “The First Extremely Online Senator”. His attacks on the president prompted Trump to compare the senator’s appearance to comedy character Pee-wee Herman.

The senator has called for an end to the Iran war, opposed many of Trump’s tax cuts and criticised the president’s tariffs. He has also addressed Middle East politics by saying he values Israel’s security and “the lives of innocent Palestinians”. Ossoff has Australian family ties: his mother, Heather Fenton, was born in Sydney, while her mother came from Brisbane and her father from Footscray in Melbourne. He previously held Australian citizenship but later renounced it, according to 2021 reporting by Nine newspapers.