Jon Ossoff Running For U.S. Senate, Hopes To Unseat David Perdue

ATLANTA — Democrat Jon Ossoff is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, and will formally announce his campaign on Tuesday. Ossoff joins two other Democrats who hope to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. David Perdue next year. Ossoff made the announcement Monday night on MSNBC's The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell.

In his first bid for public office, Ossoff lost what became the nation's most expensive congressional campaign in history in 2017 to Karen Handel in metro Atlanta's 6th congressional district. Handel lost the seat last year to Democrat Lucy McBath.

Ossoff immediately becomes the highest profile Democrat in the race, which also includes former Columbus, Georgia, mayor Teresa Tomlinson and Ted Terry, mayor of Clarkston, Georgia. Perdue is not expected to draw any opposition from within his own GOP.

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was rumored to be considering a Perdue challenge, but has since ruled that out. Last month, Georgia's senior senator, Johnny Isakson, announced he is resigning at the end of the year, meaning Georgia will vote in both of its Senate races next year. Abrams has also ruled out a challenge in that race.

Abrams lost a close governor's election last year to Republican Brian Kemp.

Ossoff's announcement is also certain to bolster Democrat hopes to make Georgia a "swing state" in 2020, despite a majority GOP congressional delegation, Republican control of both the state house and senate, and Republicans holding every statewide constitutional office. In the wake of Isakson's announcement, Chuck Todd, host of NBC's Meet The Press, said Georgia might be the latest to join the ranks of Florida, Michigan and Ohio as a swing state.

“Attention, Georgia, you are now a swing state," Todd said. "Do you know the warning signs? You may be experiencing over active phone calls, mail or paper cuts, invasive media, congested diner, frequent registration, random sampling, inbox bloat, chad dimpling, overwhelming weight of electoral college or loss of hope. These are all symptoms of swing state voter syndrome.”