In heated Georgia Senate debate, Jon Ossoff says he won’t run for president in 2028

Sen. Jon Ossoff said Tuesday night during a debate that he will not run for president in 2028. The Democratic senator from Georgia made the statement in response to a question while facing off against 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 regularly discussed as a potential Democratic contender in 2028. If he won the presidency, he would have to give up his Senate seat, something he stressed Tuesday night that he would not do. After the brief remark, Ossoff quickly transitioned to pressing Collins on why he has supported President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a main focus of both his campaign and a debate held between the two last week. Tuesday was the second debate in the nationally watched Georgia Senate race, this one organized by the Atlanta Press Club. Collins quipped that Ossoff was actually trying to run for president and will be “your DSA candidate,” a reference to the Democratic Socialists of America. That exchange came at the beginning of the hour-long debate, which covered ground including data centers; the economy under Trump, whose approval rating is facing record lows; the war in Iran; and the issue of Collins’ son-in-law promoting white nationalist posts on social media. Ossoff asked Collins directly if he considered himself a “white nationalist.” “I condemn any sort of hate speech,” Collins said. “Antisemitism, hate of any kind. It’s abhorrent.” The exchange continued when Collins again asked Ossoff to denounce Reid Hoffman, a major donor to Democratic causes — including Ossoff-aligned political committees — whose name appeared in the Epstein files. Collins brought up Hoffman several times last week, and did so again during the second debate. FOR SUBSCRIBERSKimberly Guilfoyle’s swift exit FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on why 2026 isn’t like 2018 FOR SUBSCRIBERSAttack on Saudi airport dials up pressure on D.C. FOR SUBSCRIBERSKimberly Guilfoyle’s swift exit FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe Data Dive: Steve Kornacki on why 2026 isn’t like 2018 FOR SUBSCRIBERSAttack on Saudi airport dials up pressure on D.C. Ossoff did not directly respond, and again pointed to the fact that those close to Collins amplified white nationalists’ posts. “How weak a person do you have to be to be unable to stop someone under your own roof from disseminating neo-Nazi propaganda while you run for Senate?” Ossoff said. “The paper reported it’s still going on today.” Given a chance to respond, Collins did not address it directly. But he said rhetoric like Ossoff’s had motivated a New York man making death threats against him. “I’m a little tired of this, Jon,” Collins said. “This crazy person is in jail right now because of your rhetoric.” Neither candidate directly answered charges made by the other. Collins also, once again, did not answer questions about whether or not President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. His response came after questions from Ossoff about audio of a call Trump made after the 2020 election asking Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” to help overturn the 2020 election. “You know, Joe Biden went into office, and boy, Georgians paid for it,” Collins said.