Why Jon Ossoff’s attack on Trump aide Natalie Harp keeps gaining traction

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Data center poll suggests a path around opposition.
• Democrats to replace a state House candidate on the ballot.
• We still know very little about Republicans’ midterm convention.

A viral clash

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, seen here during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last month at the Capitol in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

For days, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s attack on a little-known aide to President Donald Trump has managed something unusual in the churn of modern politics: It has stuck.

Google searches for Natalie Harp surged 5,000%. News organizations rushed out explainers about her unusual role in the White House. Liberal commentators cheered while conservatives accused him of sexism.

The White House’s unusually defensive response only helped keep the story alive. And Democrats, who have been relentlessly searching for a figure who can confront Trump, see evidence that Ossoff has found a way to get under the White House’s skin and stay there.

By Wednesday night, Ossoff was leaning further into the uproar.

“It’s been amazing to watch this White House meltdown over this all week,” he told MS NOW, before broadening his criticism from Harp to the “hangers-on and sycophants” he accused of enabling Trump’s worst instincts.

“These White House staffers are adults, public officials paid by the taxpayer with immense power in positions of public trust,” Ossoff said, arguing that Trump has retreated into “this circle of sycophantic aides who tell him every day what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear.”

Republican Senate nominee Mike Collins, meanwhile, is turning Harp into a rallying cry of his own. He’s already called Ossoff’s attack a “punk move” and said the Democrat spends “a lot of time talking about other people’s jobs, but can’t seem to do his.”

Expect to hear her name plenty more in Georgia. It’s exactly the sort of mutually beneficial political clash that social media algorithms are built to amplify.

Things to know

(From left) former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Josh McLaurin, Sandy Springs councilwoman Melody Kelley and business owner Sherwin Clemons meet during a campaign stop on Wednesday as Foxxie the dog looks at the camera. (Erik S. Lesser for the AJC)

Good morning! The midterms are in 75 days. You have until Oct. 5 to register to vote. Here are three things to know for today:

• U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, campaigned for Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Josh McLaurin on Wednesday, David Wickert reports.
• The two Democrats competing to complete the late U.S. Rep. David Scott’s term in office have until Tuesday to get their voters to the polls in what is expected to be a low-turnout contest, Tia Mitchell reports.
• The former head of Atlanta’s firefighter union says in a lawsuit that he was sent to “front-line duty” as punishment for his union activism, Shaddi Abusaid reports.

Campaign shakeup

The Georgia Capitol dome is shown through the windows of the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in June in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

A late shakeup is coming in one of Georgia Democrats’ key state House targets.

Teresa Lin has stepped down as the Democratic nominee in House District 49, and Sara Fuchs, a former chief of staff to state Rep. Betsy Holland, is expected to be tapped by the Democratic Party of Georgia as her replacement later today.

Fuchs previewed the move this week at a gathering of Democratic activists in Roswell, saying she “would not be running if she didn’t think this seat was flippable.”

“We all know this blue wave has to be big, and if it is big enough it will flip this seat,” she said. “Someone had to be there, and it’s going to be me.”

She’ll take on Republican state Rep. Chuck Martin in the North Fulton district, one of the seats Democrats are targeting as they try to erase the GOP’s narrow House majority.

Data center poll

An aerial view shows construction of a new data center in Fayetteville in 2025. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

It’s not been a good year for data centers. Voters have recoiled at the projects, and politicians from both political parties are taking notice.

Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for a temporary halt on data center construction. And Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Greg Dolezal made opposing data centers a pillar of his primary campaign.

But the data center industry isn’t giving up. A new polling memo commissioned by the nonprofit Building a Better Georgia, an arm of the Georgia Chamber’s Digital Infrastructure Alliance, concludes “voters are not necessarily opposed to data centers; rather, they want policymakers to ensure communities get a great deal from development.”

Mitchell Brown, a partner at the Cygnal polling firm, noted just 23% of likely Georgia voters have a favorable view of data centers. But only 8% said it was their top issue. A big majority — 84% — support new state requirements, “starting with data center paying the full cost of their own electric infrastructure — so that those costs are not passed on to Georgia ratepayers.

That last part is similar to a bill that passed the Georgia House of Representatives earlier this year but failed to pass the Senate.

Economy watch

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, seen here in July. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Democrats have been hammering the Trump administration on the economy in the run-up to the midterms. Wednesday, the Trump administration fought back.

The U.S. Treasury announced it would double the amount of government bonds it would buy back. The surprise announcement came after 30-year U.S. Treasury yields — or how much it costs for the government to borrow money — rose to levels not seen in nearly two decades.

The yields have a big influence on other aspects of the U.S. economy, including mortgage rates. The Associated Press reported U.S. stocks rose after the news, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.2% for its first gain in four days after reaching an all-time high last week.

Meanwhile, the U.S. national debt surged past $40 trillion on Wednesday.

Listen up

Shaddi Abusaid. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast Atlanta City Hall reporter Shaddi Abusaid joins the show to talk about the growing backlash over license plate cameras. Plus, business and climate reporter Kristi E. Swartz discusses Georgia’s data center boom.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

GOP convention

Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, seen here during the 2023 Georgia GOP Convention in Columbus, was among the names on a list of potential speakers for Republicans' upcoming convention in Dallas. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Republicans are planning to gather in Dallas in roughly three weeks for its inaugural midterm convention intended to give Trump a platform to celebrate his achievements in office while raising money for GOP candidates and state parties.

But there is still very little we know about the gathering scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10. Just this week, rank-and-file party activists received word they can apply for free tickets. Previously, attendance was by invitation only and appeared to be targeting wealthy donors.