Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said Tuesday during a debate that he will not run for president in 2028. Ossoff made the statement in response to a question as he faced off with his Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins. Ossoff is seeking a second six-year term in Georgia and said he would serve the full term.
“I have zero interest in running for president,” Ossoff said when asked directly by one of the moderators. “I’m not running for president. I’m running for re-election to the Senate.” Ossoff has been widely discussed as a potential Democratic contender in 2028, but winning the presidency would require him to give up his Senate seat, which he stressed he would not do.
The exchange came at the start of the hourlong debate, organized by the Atlanta Press Club. Collins quipped that Ossoff was actually trying to run for president and would be “your DSA candidate,” a reference to the Democratic Socialists of America. The debate covered data centers, the economy under President Donald Trump, whose approval rating is at record lows, the war in Iran, and questions about Collins’ son-in-law promoting white nationalist posts on social media.
Ossoff asked Collins directly whether he considered himself a “white nationalist.” Collins said he condemns hate speech and antisemitism. Neither candidate directly answered the other’s charges. Collins also did not answer whether Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, and he was asked about audio of a call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing