Dem
47
GOP
53
As long as we are on the subject of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) was in Atlanta this weekend to deliver a speech at Big Bethel AME Church as part of their "Social Justice Sunday." And, by all accounts, he wowed the crowd:
Between this and the Talarico interview above, we gave you 23 minutes of video today, which is a lot. But consider taking a look at both, because they're both impressive.
One thing that runs through both videos is... religion. Talarico is himself a pastor, and so he speaks fluent "Christian," a skill that is on display in his Colbert appearance. Ossoff is Jewish, and so not an adherent of the denomination whose church he was visiting, but he speaks pretty good "Christian," too. Here's the passage that's getting all kinds of attention on social media:
A government transformed into a tool of one man's vengeance and enrichment. A spiritually broken president who digs the moral pit deeper and deeper. But, Pastor, Proverbs says, whoever digs a pit—whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And scripture's full of kings brought low by their own arrogance. Ahab surrounded himself with 400 yes-men, false prophets paid to affirm the king's delusions. And those delusions led him to his defeat.
And among today's false prophets are the election deniers who indulge this president's obsession with overturning the 2020 election. Now hear me when I say this: they tell a lie so absurd and therefore so debasing to tell that the act of telling it proves the teller's total and humiliating submission.
Ossoff also had a few things to say about racism, and the bigotries of the current administration. For example, he found a bit of time to mention the Obama video from last weekend. We bet that one is not going away anytime soon. Although we may be wrong, we suppose. After all, Ossoff was speaking this weekend, before Jesse Jackson died, and so before the Senator knew that Donald Trump has a Black friend. Or had one, at least.
It seems to us that both Senate candidates are, for lack of a better term, meeting people where they are. If either or both of them hope to win, they need votes from Latino and/or Black voters. Latino and/or Black voters tend to be religious, and are going to prefer to vote for candidates who seem to know where they are coming from. Talarico and Ossoff both seem to be doing well on that front, and countering the argument/stereotype that the Democratic Party is hostile to people of faith.
After the speech, a few prominent political operatives in Georgia predicted that Ossoff was on pace to win his Senate race by 5 points, and that as soon as he did that, he'd become the frontrunner in the 2028 race for the Democratic presidential nomination. That may be a little premature. The polling says that the Republican who is sure to advance from the three-person field is Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who has led every recent poll of that primary, usually by double digits. Then, once Georgia turns to the general election after the May 19 primary, Ossoff will start off as something like a 2-3 point favorite. A very good place to start, but obviously not close to "the race is over." Still, if Ossoff does triumph by a generous margin, as a centrist, in a purple state, with lots of Black support, he almost certainly will become at least one of the frontrunners.
It is true that we, and pretty much all the other politics commentators, tend to think that 2028 Democratic primary voters are going to favor a VERY safe candidate. After what happened with a Black, Asian and female candidate in 2024, we think any Black or Asian wannabe Democratic presidents are going to have to cool their jets for another cycle or two, and probably any women wannabe Democratic presidents, as well. But a Jewish candidate probably isn't as susceptible to this, if for no other reason than the blue team did not lose with a Jew in 2024. Certainly, people are talking about Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) as a serious candidate, and he's Jewish. So, we don't think it's inconsistent to be skeptical that 2028 is going to be, say, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D-MI) year, while at the same time writing that it just might end up being Ossoff's year. (Z)