{"id":9936,"date":"2026-07-18T21:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T16:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9936"},"modified":"2026-07-18T21:53:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T16:53:37","slug":"sen-ossoff-fuels-reelection-campaign-with-attacks-on-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9936","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff fuels reelection campaign with attacks on Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">ATLANTA &#8212; <\/span>Nearly a decade ago, Jon Ossoff was a 30-year-old Democratic congressional candidate promising Georgia suburban voters he would \u201ccut wasteful spending\u201d and make \u201cboth parties in Washington\u201d be \u201caccountable to you.\u201d His Republican opponent even complained that Ossoff \u201ctalks like a Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Nobody would make that mistake today. After losing that race in 2017 and narrowly winning a U.S. Senate seat during a runoff in 2021, Ossoff is running for reelection with a full-throated broadside on President Donald Trump as a \u201cnational disgrace\u201d leading a \u201cMar-a-Lago mafia\u201d and \u201cthe most corrupt administration of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The 39-year-old senator has always been a vessel for Trump opposition, no matter his message on the campaign trail. But not until now has Ossoff openly embraced the role. His approach is being noticed across the Democratic spectrum, from activists hungry for the right message in the 2026 midterms to those pining for viable presidential candidates in 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">This week, as Trump renewed his fixation on false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election that brought Ossoff to Washington, the senator never missed an opportunity to denounce the \u201cworld\u2019s most famous sore loser.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThe senator is definitely having a moment, and these breakout moments can certainly become a launching pad for something bigger,\u201d said Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist who helped Pete Buttigieg go from being an unknown Indiana mayor to a presidential contender in 2020. She said Ossoff&#8217;s approach \u2014 tying Trump\u2019s <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-financial-disclosure-crypto-060c15062b8fedc6104159ea13775463\">personal financial gain<\/a> to his performance on the economy \u2014 is &#8220;one that more Democrats should adopt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff insists he\u2019s focused only on \u201cproviding Georgians with the best possible service, investigating and exposing corruption and abuse, and winning this pivotal Senate race\u201d over Rep. Mike Collins, who <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-runoff-senate-governor-trump-collins-jones-a24587d1fcdba58dfd036aa83f0a4d12\">won a Republican primary runoff<\/a> after Trump\u2019s last-minute endorsement. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Collins argues that Ossoff is just another \u201cout-of-touch, far-left liberal,&#8221; and he has criticized him as \u201cweak\u201d and \u201cwoke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But Ossoff\u2019s turn in the spotlight, coupled with prodigious fundraising, puts him in a stronger position for a second term than most political observers expected when Trump returned to the White House less than two years ago. And with Ossoff being the only Democratic senator facing reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, defending his seat is critical for Democrats as they try to gain at least four seats elsewhere to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/senate-democrats-platner-majority-ccd877475b8d97f13fdf5d1bf6040f8d\">reclaim a Senate majority<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who is also seeking reelection and is mentioned as a potential 2028 candidate, was in Georgia recently campaigning for Ossoff and Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He described them both as \u201cfighters\u201d and said Ossoff is making the right pitch for voters who &#8220;want someone that will disrupt the status quo and do what\u2019s necessary to make their lives easier as the Trump administration raises prices on everything from gas to groceries.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff was a political unknown when he decided to run for Congress in 2017. It was the first special congressional election of Trump\u2019s presidency, an open seat because Trump nominated Tom Price as health secretary thinking the district that once sent House Speaker Newt Gingrich to Washington was safe for Republicans. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The young Democrat had been a congressional aide and started a production company focused on investigative documentaries. But Ossoff became a fundraising sensation as rank-and-file Democrats looked for a way to counter Trump. He led an initial all-party primary, supercharging the national attention on a runoff campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThe atmosphere of disarray and gridlock and dysfunction and chaos in Washington doesn\u2019t serve the American people, and it\u2019s not just this administration or this White House \u2014 it\u2019s career politicians in Congress,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff lost to Karen Handel, a Republican who previously served as Georgia secretary of state. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Running against Republican Sen. David Perdue in 2020, Ossoff continued a disciplined, wonkish approach. Georgia was not considered to be a top battleground, and what early attention it got was focused more on Democrat Raphael Warnock, running in a special Senate election against Sen. Kelly Loeffler. She was considered more vulnerable than Perdue after being appointed to replace Johnny Isakson, who retired because of health issues. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The dynamics changed when Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden carried Georgia and both Georgia Senate contests went to runoffs \u2014 with control of the chamber hanging in the balance. Trump tried to overturn Biden\u2019s victory and began his yearslong fixation with falsely claiming U.S. elections are rigged, with Georgia as his prime example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Still, throughout his 2020 campaign, Ossoff kept his focus on Perdue\u2019s personal business dealings and the Republican reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. In one debate, Ossoff did not mention the president at all. In another, when asked about Trump, he answered broadly. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThat kind of leadership really only grows when there\u2019s already been a destruction of faith in our political institutions,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As a senator, Ossoff has built relationships and a constituent services operation that span Georgia. He regularly announces appropriations for infrastructure, hospitals and other programs \u2014 including in heavily Republican areas. He led a congressional investigation into problems in Georgia\u2019s child services programs, and he\u2019s focused heavily on veterans\u2019 care. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But his 2026 breakout has been anchored by a stump speech built around a withering take down of the president. He mocks Trump\u2019s social media blitzes on Truth Social and proposals to put his face on U.S. money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWhen he\u2019s not posting, he\u2019s been trying to rob us. Have you seen it?\u201d Ossoff asks, shifting to allegations of corruption and incompetence. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He ticks through Trumps\u2019 lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, his idea for a restitution fund that could compensate Jan. 6 rioters and foreign business deals by his sons. \u201cPrince Don and Prince Eric,\u201d Ossoff calls them. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He blasts Trump\u2019s tax cuts as tilted to the rich, his effort to shield the Jeffrey Epstein case files, and an Iran war that \u201cno one voted for and no one can explain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cAll this while you pay more for gas, for groceries, for healthcare,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff still nods to an overall \u201crot\u201d in a \u201ccoin-operated\u201d political system that goes beyond Trump. But the applause lines, which campaign aides cut and distribute across social media platforms in real time, are trained on Trump. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cHe&#8217;s a failed president and a national disgrace,&#8221; Ossoff repeatedly says. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff won his Senate seat in the midst of Trump&#8217;s election denial in Georgia, and the president has revived the topic as he runs for reelection. Trump has directed his administration to investigate the 2020 election, and federal agents seized hundreds of boxes of ballots from Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Refusing to acknowledge that Biden legitimately defeated Trump has become a litmus test for serving in the administration, one that Ossoff highlighted when questioning Jay Clayton, Trump&#8217;s nominee for national intelligence director. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWho won the 2020 election?\u201d Ossoff said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI\u2019m not going to get into that with you,\u201d Clayton responded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As Clayton continued to dodge, Ossoff said, \u201cisn\u2019t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president\u2019s delusions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff raised $20 million during the second quarter of 2026 and had $42 million left to spend. Collins raised about $2.1 million and had about the same amount in his coffers. And a 20-to-1 money advantage certainly helps a politician trying to stay in office, and in the spotlight. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Smith offered one caution about Ossoff. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cYou can\u2019t live off one great speech or one viral exchange,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to prove you can perform in every format.&#8221; The question, she said, is how someone goes &#8220;from flavor of the month to a more serious national political figure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA &#8212; Nearly a decade ago, Jon Ossoff was a 30-year-old Democratic congressional candidate promising Georgia suburban voters he would \u201ccut wasteful spending\u201d and make \u201cboth parties in Washington\u201d be \u201caccountable to you.\u201d His Republican opponent even complained that Ossoff \u201ctalks like a Republican.\u201d Nobody would make that mistake today. After losing that race in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/6533aeab-f660-4c58-9069-cd101338fa10\/wirestory_b35cc90ec52f00194333aa47e093e8bd_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}