Jon Ossoff said Sunday he will "take a look" at pursuing Georgia's Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in 2020, calling Sen. David Perdue (R., Ga.) an enabler of President Donald Trump.
Ossoff, 32, became a national figure when he was the Democratic nominee for a special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District in 2017. He lost by four points to Republican Karen Handel in the most expensive congressional race to date.
Speaking in Gainesville, Ga., to a local group of Democrats, Ossoff told a questioner, "I'll take a look at the U.S. Senate race."
"I want to make sure we have the strongest possible candidate to challenge David Perdue. Whether or not I'm a candidate, I will work to defeat David Perdue," he said.
The race for the nomination is wide open following Stacey Abrams's decision to not run. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) aggressively recruited Abrams to run, given her name recognition and formidable campaign infrastructure following her loss in 2018's gubernatorial race. Abrams bowed out last week, though, and she has left open running for the presidency in 2020 or challenging Gov. Brian Kemp (R.) in 2022.
Ossoff attacked Perdue as being unwilling to stand up to Trump, with whom the first-term lawmaker has struck a close alliance.
"In Georgia, we need a senator who has the decency to stand up for people who are suffering, who has the skill to deliver the resources that Georgia needs, and who has the integrity to uphold the standards of conduct that we expect from our elected officials," Ossoff said.
"It pains me that now we're at a point where we're simply relieved that the president of the United States is not a foreign spy. That's a pretty low bar for the presidency," he added. "How do public servants like David Perdue go to work everyday and go meet their constituents everyday, in good faith, knowing that you're enabling a liar and a fraud who's abusing his power? And who doesn't treat people with the basic respect that we demand children treat people with? Those are my thoughts on David Perdue."
Former Columbus (Ga.) Mayor Teresa Tomlinson announced last week she's running for the Democratic nomination in what could be a crowded field.
Ossoff was criticized for living outside the 6th District while running for the office in 2017, but residency issues don't look to be a problem for him if he runs for the Senate.