Senate - Georgia - Jon Ossoff

DONATE to Jon's 2020 campaign via his website

Democrat challenging Republican incumbent David Perdue for Senate

Since 2013, Jon Ossoff has been CEO of Insight TWI, a 30-year-old Emmy-award-winning media production company that investigates corruption, organized crime, and war crimes for international news organizations. His company has exposed sexual slavery of women and girls by ISIS, crooked judges, foreign officials who steal U.S-funded food and medical aid, contract killers, human traffickers, and bribery. Jon and his wife Alisha, an OB/GYN physician, both grew up in Atlanta.

While in high school, Jon interned for congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who passed away in July of this year. Jon refers to Lewis as his mentor. Congressman Lewis endorsed Jon during the primary race for this seat, saying “Jon’s 2017 campaign sparked a flame that is burning brighter than ever, in Georgia and across the country. Like the many thousands Jon has already organized and inspired, I am ready to work tirelessly to elect him.”

Jon earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and his Master’s degree from London School of Economics. Before his career in journalism and media production, Jon worked as a national security aide for Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson, handling defense, foreign affairs, intelligence, and economic policy.

In 2017 Jon became a national figure in the most expensive U.S. House race in history, narrowly losing a special election in the Atlanta suburbs.

Jon sums up his policy priorities in this statement: “I am fighting for great health care for every American with a strong Public Option and strengthened Affordable Care Act, to defend Medicare and Social Security, for historic investment in clean energy and infrastructure, to lower taxes for working families and small businesses, to defend Roe v. Wade and the privacy of women’s health care, to enact major criminal justice reform, to get dark money out of politics and end Citizens United.”

Jon’s opponent, Republican Senator David Perdue, votes in line with Trump’s position 94.8% of the time. He has become one of Trump’s closest allies, calling Trump “a historic person of destiny”. He has been called “Trump's favorite senator”. When Trump was said to have referred to African nations as "shithole" countries in a private meeting with senators, comments that attendees confirmed, Perdue said he had not heard the remark. Perdue has praised Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Asked why he excoriated President Obama for his response to the ebola outbreak in 2014 but praised Trump's response to coronavirus in 2020, Perdue said, "It's a totally different situation". In September 2020, after February 2020 video recordings were released where Trump said he intentionally downplayed the severity of the coronavirus, Perdue defended Trump, saying "I understand trying to manage the psyche of the country and also look at the actions that he took. ... I look at what he did – and it was certainly a strong response." Perdue has repeatedly pushed for repeal of the Affordable Care Act. He voted multiple times to defend toxic “junk” health plans that can deny coverage for pre-existing conditions – health plans which the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association have vocally opposed. Perdue’s environmental record is terrible, earning a 3% lifetime score from League of Conservation Voters. Ethical questions have been raised about Perdue's buying and selling of stocks in companies affected by his legislative work; see for example: Daily Beast, "Sen. David Perdue Says His Perfectly Timed Stock Trades Are Completely Innocent". In July 2020, Perdue's campaign ran a Facebook ad in which Ossoff's nose was digitally altered to be larger, which Ossoff criticized as "one of the most classic anti-Semitic tropes". The Koch family’s Super PAC has been pouring money into Georgia to support Perdue.

Many organizations have endorsed Jon, including End Citizens United, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and Planned Parenthood. When Stacey Abrams endorsed Jon she called him a “warrior against corruption” who has successfully exposed crimes and human rights violations; she paid tribute to the work he had done for Georgians as a senior Congressional staffer, and said: “We must unify behind Jon today and invest in his campaign like our lives depend on it.” Jon needs our help to win this important race, which is expected to be very close, and which could decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate.