Fast-Rising Jon Ossoff Might Have Just Killed His Chances At Higher Office

Interesting 2026 midterms, 2028 democratic primary, democratic party, georgia, jon ossoff, vice president kamala harris admin September 13, 2026 0 Comments

Fast-Rising Jon Ossoff Might Have Just Killed His Chances At Higher Office

Democrat Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff might have just killed his chances at higher office by agreeing to campaign with one of the most unpopular modern politicians and failed presidential candidates: Kamala Harris.

Ossoff, who is running for reelection against Republican Mike Collins in November, has seen his star rise in 2026 after keeping a lower profile earlier in his first Senate term. Increasingly picking fights with the Trump administration, going viral online, and maintaining strong fundraising and polling numbers have led many Democrats to speculate that he might run in the 2028 presidential primary. (RELATED: Where Democrats Think They Can Flip The Senate: New Ad Money Shows The Map)

Ossoff has denied the rumors, saying he has “zero interest” and is more focused on his family and Georgia. But if the rumors happen to be true, and the senator is seriously considering a 2028 run, he may have just committed his first mistake in the long slog to power.

Harris, a deeply unpopular vice president under Joe Biden, is now beginning to flex her political muscles again after her blowout loss to Donald Trump in 2024. Her first big test will be the midterms. She recently told Vox Media’s Megan Rapinoe that the upcoming elections “[are] full-time occupying my thoughts, my mind and my work.”

“I’m spending full time working on doing everything I can to help people restore some balance in our government, which is through the midterms, winning back Congress, the House and the Senate,” Harris said.

One part of this reemergence into Democrat politics is to boost (or perhaps destroy) Ossoff’s Senate campaign.

Spokespersons for both Harris and Ossoff have confirmed that the former VP will stump with Ossoff in Georgia next month and headline a fundraising dinner hosted by Fulton County Democrats in Atlanta. Ossoff’s campaign previously told Politico that they would welcome the chance to campaign with her.

Tellingly, several Democrats running to flip seats in more rural, conservative states do not want to associate themselves with Harris.

Rob Sand, an independent-minded Democrat running for governor of Iowa, bluntly said of Harris during an interview with Politico in August, “No thanks. Let’s move on. We need some new leadership.” He also flat-out said “nope” when asked whether he would want Harris or Biden to campaign with him.

In Alaska, Democrat Senate candidate Mary Peltola is keeping her distance from Harris. After Harris’s political action committee sent a fundraising email, signed by Harris, describing Peltola as the best chance to flip Alaska, the campaign swiftly shot down the association.

“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48. Her focus is and always will be Alaska,” a spokesperson for Peltola told local NBC affiliate KTUU. “That’s why she’s proud to have the endorsement of [the American Federation of Government Employees], the Alaska [American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations], the Alaska [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers] Local 1547 and more than 10,000 Alaskans who have signed up to volunteer with the campaign.”

One possible explanation for why Ossoff is taking a different approach than Peltola might have to do with Georgia’s high black population, particularly in Atlanta, and Harris’s popularity among black, high-school-educated voters (at least according to this poll from 2025). Another poll found that Harris had a big lead among black voters compared to other potential 2028 Democrat contenders.

But in a state like Georgia, it’s hard to imagine independents getting excited and motivated to vote because Ossoff is campaigning with Harris. Harder still to imagine a dissatisfied young person leaping at the prospect of a candidate backed by such an empty suit.

Harris’s support does not seem like a boon. If anything, she represents heavy political baggage that could drag down Ossoff’s reelection hopes. And losing in November to Mike Collins might leave Ossoff on the sidelines in 2028.