Ossoff Walks Political Tightrope in Georgia as Shutdown Drags On

The day Senator Jon Ossoff won a tight runoff in 2021, cementing Democratic control of the Senate, his first pledge to Georgia voters was that he would protect their health care.

Now, a fight Democrats have undertaken to preserve a key piece of the Affordable Care Act is at the heart of a government shutdown stalemate that could shape Mr. Ossoff’s uphill fight for re-election next year.

For Mr. Ossoff, the most endangered Senate Democrat facing voters in 2026, the shutdown fight entering its third week carries both political opportunities and perils.

As the only Democrat running for the Senate in a state that President Trump won in 2024, Mr. Ossoff risks alienating some voters by sticking with his party in refusing to vote to reopen the government until Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans come to the table to negotiate an extension of Obamacare subsidies that are slated to expire at the end of the year.

“My constituents don’t want health insurance premiums to double next year and they want the federal government to reopen,” Mr. Ossoff, 38, said in an interview. “There needs to be real leadership from the president. He needs to come out of hiding, come up to the Hill. There is a solution.”

But the shutdown fight is also a chance for Mr. Ossoff to rally core Democratic supporters behind him as he braces for a difficult campaign, at a time when many in his party are spoiling for a fight against Mr. Trump.