Latest news with #JonOssoff
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Ossoff: "I've never seen opposition energy like this before"
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff joined MSNBC's Jen Psaki to discuss growing opposition to Trump's megabill, as hundreds of thousands across the country continue to gather for political rallies in an off-year for federal elections. The Georgia senator says he's "never seen opposition energy like this before... and people are ready to take action."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Savannahian Randy Zurcher launches 'grassroots' run for U.S. House seat
Local teachers' union representative Randy Zurcher launched his "grassroots" bid for Coastal Georgia's U.S. House of Representatives seat Wednesday, pledging to take the district back from "bought and paid for" politicians who have represented the district in recent years. Zurcher made his announcement on steps outside of current U.S. House District 1 Representative Buddy Carter's Savannah field office, where Zurcher has been one of the weekly picketers outside the office complex this year. Carter is running for U.S. Senate against Sen. Jon Ossoff and will not be in next year's race for the U.S. House seat. In his announcement speech, Zurcher said he would work to roll back specific Trump policies such as cuts to social services like Medicaid and ramped up immigration enforcement by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "This is a democracy, and if elected, I'll fight to claw it back [together] piece by piece," he said. Open seat: Six-term Congressman Buddy Carter announces bid for Senate seat opposing Ossoff Zurcher is the first Democrat from Chatham County to announce a bid for the open seat, which will be up for election next year. Two Democrats from St. Mary's, Defonsio Daniels and Joseph Palimeno, have set up campaign committees for the seat that are registered with the Federal Elections Commission. The U.S. House District 1 seat covers Georgia's coast and stretches westward past Waycross. The seat is reliably red, with Carter carrying 15% to 20% of the vote each contested election over the past decade. The Republican field has drawn a handful of contenders so far, including Chatham County Commissioner Pat Farrell and Jim Kingston, son of former 1st District Congressman Jack Kingston. Zurcher said in an interview that winning the seat was an "uphill battle," but that he could make a strong run by appealing to working class voters in the district. "It's going to have to take a real grassroots effort. But I will say this, I don't feel like this is as much of a left versus right or a red versus blue battle, but working people, normal people, people who rely on earned benefits like Social Security versus a few billionaires who don't want us to have our own benefits," Zurcher said. Zurcher enters the race with experience in public office as a city councilman in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There, Zurcher championed a Human Dignity Resolution that provided job protection for gay and lesbian city employees, as well as fighting off a landfill on a "geologically sensitive" mountain in the area, he said. Zurcher has also worked in real estate in Savannah but is now a local representative for the American Federation of Teachers union. He has also canvassed locally for Democratic candidates, most notably Kamala Harris' bid for president last year and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff campaign against Herschel Walker in 2022. On Wednesday, Zurcher was joined by about 15 supporters, many who were also picketing along Abercorn Street outside the office complex Wednesday. It was alongside those people that Zurcher came to the decision to run for the seat, where over the course of the past four months, the group noticed no local Democrats had entered the race yet. One of those supporters was Bob Morgan, who has picketed with Zurcher on Abercorn Street and also rode with him to Washington D.C. for a protest against cuts to Veterans Affairs. Morgan recalled Zurcher driving the majority of the trip to D.C. and back in one day. "That's a guy that has energy," Morgan said. Morgan added that Zurcher's stand against cuts to social services was one key reason for his support. He believes Zurcher will be loyal to people opposed to corporations, he said. Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah resident launches Democratic bid for U.S. House seat Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jon Ossoff, Democrats' most vulnerable senator, sharpens Trump criticism in a state Trump won
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff stood before hundreds of potential voters Saturday to deliver what he called 'a report from our nation's capital' a half-year into President Donald Trump's second term. How voters react in Georgia, which has taken center stage in the Trump era as a key battleground state, could help determine how the final two years of Trump's presidency go — and how (or whether) Ossoff's young political career continues. 'It turns out that when Donald Trump said he was going to fight for working-class Americans, what he really meant was he was going to take away your health care to cut taxes for the rich,' the first-term senator told voters wielding American flags and Ossoff for Senate memorabilia at a rally in Savannah, Georgia. The message from Ossoff, delivered at the second major event of his 2026 re-election campaign, was clear. He cast Trump's signing of a massive Republican spending bill to fund much of his agenda, dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' as deeply revealing of his priorities — which the Democrat said aren't about making life easier for the working-class Americans that helped power his presidential campaign. In a state Trump narrowly won, Ossoff crafted his anti-Trump message over the course of an hour by ticking through what he called the 'broken promises' of Trump's administration — a list that included the Department of Justice's decision not to release additional files related to the death of Jeffrey Epstein, after Trump allies in his Justice Department had stoked conspiracy theories about the case in recent years. But mostly, Ossoff's 'report' illustrates how Democrats want to weaponize the GOP's massive spending bill, which is expected to add trillions of dollars to the national debt, more than a year out from the 2026 midterm elections. 'We were told Donald Trump's new GOP cared about working people,' Ossoff, 38, said. 'You can't claim to be for working men and women when you defund their hospitals and nursing homes.' It's a key part of the Democratic strategy in both the House and the Senate, where the party will have to win four seats to retake the chamber. Few if any states are as important to that mission as Georgia, where Ossoff is the lone Democratic senator running for re-election in a state won by Trump. The Georgia incumbent's message comes as Democrats work to recover from record-low ratings for the party and engage a voter base eager to hear the party's plan to counter Trump. 'I want more visibility. I want them to speak and say this is not what we want and this is how we're going to make changes,' said Stacey Michael, a Savannah resident and a veteran. 'Don't leave us blindly wondering.' Georgia's role as a political bellwether has sharpened in recent years, with the deeply polarized state voting for the winner of the last three presidential elections and helping determine control of the Senate after 2020 and 2022. The Southern battleground served as a beacon for Democrats during and immediately after Trump's first term. They lauded victories there as proof that Trump turned off moderate voters and that Democrats were surging in a state with a decadeslong history of supporting Republican candidates. Now, the party will look to Ossoff to determine if Democrats' run of wins in federal races before Trump's 2024 showing was, as Republicans argue, an anomaly fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic — or whether Georgia is a truly purple battleground. Winning another term would require Ossoff to reverse the trends that powered Trump's victory last year: higher turnout among Republican voters, marginal shifts rightward in Democratic strongholds and waning enthusiasm among core Democratic constituencies. One Georgia-based political scientist said Ossoff's re-election, while possible, will be an uphill battle. 'Georgia is still more competitive than it was in the mid-2000s but the fundamentals of the state still privilege Republicans,' said Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University. And Ossoff voters agree that he'll have to make an effective appeal to the state's Republican constituency to win. 'We got to get better at winning elections and getting the message out and compromising on the issues that we're arguing about amongst ourselves. We've got to really get better at that,' said Savannah resident William Heard, a retired schoolteacher. Georgia's competitiveness, Gillespie said, stems from its demographic mix. Black people make up roughly a third of the overall population, according to census data. But unlike neighboring Southern states with large Black populations, Georgia, over the last decade, has also seen significant increases in its Latino and Asian American populations, other groups historically more likely to support Democratic candidates — though Republicans made inroads with each of those groups in 2024. And while most Black voters again supported Democratic candidates in 2024, they did not turn out at the same rate as white Georgians, according to analysis by the Brennan Center. Meanwhile, three of the four largest counties in metro Atlanta, Democrats' most important source of votes in the state, shifted rightward last year. A New York Times analysis of election data shows that while Democrats did gain in some of the outer suburbs, Fulton County, the home of Atlanta and Georgia's most populous county, saw a 1.5-point shift toward Trump compared to 2020. Gwinnett County, the state's second largest, saw a slightly larger shift toward the right, while DeKalb County, the fourth-biggest county, saw a nearly 3-point move. Behind that shift was an effort by the Republican chairs of the metro Atlanta counties to reactivate what they described as a quiet Republican constituency in the overwhelmingly blue region. In coordination with the Trump campaign, the county chairs used data analytics to target low-propensity conservative voters in the region with door-knocks, digital ads and high-profile surrogates, like current FBI Director Kash Patel and Lara Trump. Though then-Vice President Kamala Harris still handily won the counties, Marci McCarthy, the former chair of the DeKalb County Republican Party, said the results of the election indicated their efforts were successful. 'We have made inroads, and Democrats have had to take us seriously, quite frankly, because we're making them work harder in a place that they never thought they'd have to ever work in to begin with,' she said. McCarthy, whose work leading the DeKalb County GOP was so lauded that she received a political appointment in the Trump administration, said local Republicans 'caused a lot of chaos' for the state Democratic Party. At the very least, they created a permission structure for disillusioned Democrats and independents to support Trump. Now, Senate Republicans are trying to build on that. Recent ads from One Nation, the nonprofit group aligned with Senate GOP leadership, cast Trump's big bill as 'the working family tax cuts' and said Ossoff would be giving in 'to party bosses' by opposing it. Yet 16 months out from the midterm elections, Ossoff has several factors working in his favor. With Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declining to run for Senate, Republicans will be embroiled in a crowded, potentially messy primary fight before shifting their focus to the incumbent. Ossoff is also one of the Senate's best fundraisers, and he currently has more than $15 million in his campaign account ahead of what is expected to be among the most expensive races of the midterm cycle. Ossoff's campaign has framed him as well experienced at coalition building, pointing to an unsuccessful congressional run in 2017 that saw the then 30-year-old execute a competitive campaign in what had been a ruby-red district before Trump reshaped both parties' coalitions in 2016. A priority in 2026, the campaign indicated, will be expanding Georgia Democrats' coalition by campaigning across the state in both urban, Democratic strongholds and more rural, Republican-controlled counties. He'll have little choice, experts say. 'There are still more Republicans in Georgia than there are Democrats, and Democrats have to figure out how to produce a superior candidate and put together a superior mobilization operation,' Gillespie said. 'And then they have to hope that their Republican opponent is deeply compromised in some way.' With no clear Republican front-runner for Ossoff to challenge, the Democratic candidate is starting out by targeting the nation's most powerful Republican, Trump. 'More people are unemployed. The wars are still raging. The debt is exploding. Oil drilling is slowing down. Prices are going up,' Ossoff outlined. 'They've destroyed Medicaid and defunded hospitals and added $4 trillion to the debt to cut taxes for the rich.' 'In the same bill that defunded hospitals to cut taxes for the rich, they made the budget for mass deportations larger than the FBI, ATF, DEA and the Bureau of Prisons combined,' he continued. For Ossoff's supporters, highlighting the specifics of how Trump's agenda bill will affect Georgia residents, particularly those more vulnerable to the federal aid cuts packaged into the massive spending bill, is critical to his re-election chances. 'We're seeing all kinds of federal cuts,' said Madeline Ryan, who is blind and involved with the Bulloch County Young Democrats. 'Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, SNAP benefits, all these things that disabled people rely on every day, cutting things that provide health care, food, you know, security to people with disabilities.' Not all of Ossoff's Trump criticism fit into the 'broken promises' rubric. 'He's a crook and a conman and he wants to be a king,' he said. 'Once again, the country is counting on Georgia to lead the way.' This article was originally published on
The Hill
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Ossoff rakes in more than $10M in latest Georgia Senate fundraising haul
Sen. Jon Ossoff's (D-Ga.) campaign announced on Thursday that it raised more than $10 million in the second quarter of fundraising this cycle, ending the quarter with $15.5 million cash on hand. Ossoff is vying for a second term in the Senate and is considered one of Republicans' best pickup opportunities next year, but his fundraising underscores picking off the first-term Georgia Democrat will be no easy feat. His campaign touted that his average campaign donation this quarter was $32, with close to 98 percent of donations received being $100 or less. His campaign received contributions from all but three of Georgia's 159 counties. 'The Ossoff campaign is building unstoppable momentum to win next November, and the small-dollar, grassroots movement is the backbone of our victorious coalition. We're grateful for the overwhelming support,' Ossoff campaign manager Ellen Foster said in a statement. Ossoff's second quarter fundraising is slightly lower than the more than $11 million his campaign touted in the first fundraising quarter of this year, though both fundraising quarter underscore a steady cash stream and an increasing war chest. Ossoff ended the second quarter with $15.5 million in the bank, compared to the $11 million he ended the bank with in the first quarter. His campaign has also touted enthusiastic grassroots energy and excitement around his reelection, pointing out on Thursday that more than 1,700 people have indicated they want to volunteer for his campaign. While Republicans see Ossoff as one of their best shots of flipping a Senate seat next year, the GOP has yet to rally around a clear candidate. Insurance Commissioner John King and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) have launched bids, but the others could enter the race, too, like Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
SCOOP: Rep. Mike Collins teases Georgia Senate bid
SCOOP: Rep. Mike Collins is eying a bid in the Georgia Senate race to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Republicans are salivating at the chance to flip the seat, and Collins, in a video first obtained by Fox News Digital, contended that Ossoff "must go." "It was never in my plans to run for the U.S. Senate," Collins said. "I love what I'm doing now. I think I've been effective for my district, the state. I love my district." "I mean, just good, solid, hard-working people," he continued. "But I also understand that sometimes you don't do what you want to do, but what you need to do." Collins, a two-term lawmaker representing Georgia's 10th Congressional District, still didn't directly say that he was jumping into the race, and noted that he would first consult with his family and President Donald Trump to determine "where we can be the best, most beneficial help in this mission to make sure that we get a Republican in the U.S. Senate from Georgia." The lawmaker became a staple on the road during Trump's campaign last year, and his bill, the Laken Riley Act, was the first signed into law by the president during his second term. Collins argued that Ossoff "doesn't represent the Georgia values that I cherish so much," and noted that Republicans have largely dominated the state in recent elections, including Trump's victory in November. Still, Ossoff, who is seeking re-election for a second term, was the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the Peach State in roughly two decades. Speaking on behalf of Ossoff's campaign, Devon Cruz, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Immediately after voting to rip away health insurance from 750,000 Georgians, Rep. Mike Collins now wants Georgians to give him a promotion?" Cruz continued, "Collins would join a crowded, messy primary that will leave the GOP nominee badly bruised, while Sen. Jon Ossoff is building massive momentum to take on whichever Donald Trump loyalist limps over the finish line." Senate Republicans now view Ossoff's seat as one of the most viable flip opportunities in the upcoming 2026 midterm cycle, when the GOP hopes to keep and expand upon its thin majority in the upper chamber. Should Collins dive all the way into the race, he will go face-to-face against fellow Georgia Republican Rep. Buddy Carter and Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King in the Republican primary. Carter was the first Republican to jump into the contest after Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was considered a heavy favorite to run against Ossoff, opted to forgo a Senate bid. Recent polling on the race has found that Collins may have an edge against his fellow GOP competitors. The conservative-leaning Trafalgar Group found in a survey conducted in April with 1,426 respondents that Collins held just over a 23-point edge over Carter, who came in second ahead of Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., and King. In a face-off with Ossoff, however, Collins still trailed the Senator by just shy of 5 points. In another straw poll conducted during the Georgia Republican Party State Convention earlier this month with roughly 1,200 respondents, Collins earned the support of 39% of those polled compared to Carter's 13%.
