Senator Ossoff may face religious bias in primaries — The Hill

In the United States, the potential nomination of Democratic Senator from Georgia Jon Ossoff in the 2028 presidential primaries has sparked discussion among party strategists about whether his Jewish faith could become a political obstacle. Ossoff is among the prominent potential candidates in early polls on the Democratic primaries, The Hill reports.

Debates over faith and Israel

The issue of religion is being discussed amid ongoing disputes within the Democratic Party over US support for Israel and the war in Gaza. These debates also affected intraparty elections: during Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign, there were campaigns calling on voters to cast an “uncommitted” vote.

Democratic Party strategist Steve Schale expressed hope that the Jewish faith of potential contenders would not become a decisive factor for voters. In addition to Ossoff, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker are named among possible participants in the 2028 race.

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Polls and Ossoff's position

A Politico/Public poll conducted earlier this year showed that a hypothetical candidate's Jewish faith reduced support for that candidate among both Democrats and Republicans compared with Christian candidates. Another poll showed that Democrats are less likely to support candidates who regularly attend synagogue than those who attend church once a year or have no religion. Among Republicans, by contrast, regular synagogue attendance was viewed more favorably.

Ossoff has described himself as a pro-Israel American of Jewish faith. He supported aid to Israel for self-defense, while criticizing the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Gaza and voting to restrict certain weapons shipments to Israel. This drew criticism from some of his Jewish constituents in Georgia. Republican Mike Collins, who is running against Ossoff for the Senate, used these accusations in his campaign.

Democratic strategist Eddie Vale believes that potential candidates will have to decide whether to address prejudice against Judaism directly. He cited as examples Barack Obama's speech on race during the 2008 campaign and John Kennedy's address on religion before he was elected the first US president of Catholic faith.