PERSON: Jon Ossoff

Politician

Thomas Jonathan “Jon” Ossoff (born February 16, 1987) is an American filmmaker and political figure. He is the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 2017 special election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district. The race has received significant national attention.

Ossoff received 48.1% of the vote while a Republican opponent, Karen Handel, received the next highest percentage of votes at 19.8%; collectively the Republican candidates won 51.2% of the votes. As no candidate secured a majority in the nonpartisan blanket primary, the top two-vote-getters, Ossoff and Handel, will compete in a runoff election on June 20, 2017.

2017 special election

After learning that Tom Price of Georgia’s 6th district had been appointed secretary of Health and Human Services, Ossoff announced his candidacy for this special election on January 5, 2017. Ossoff quickly emerged as the most viable Democratic candidate out of a large field of candidates. He was endorsed by prominent figures such as congressmen Hank Johnson and John Lewis, and state House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams. Ossoff raised over $8.3 million by early April of that year.

The election is seen by many as an early test of how the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency may have shifted the opinions or voter enthusiasm of educated suburban voters who live in swing districts. Trump under-performed in districts with demographics similar to the 6th during the 2016 election, having won the 6th District by only 1 percentage point. The day before the April 19 primary, Trump sent out a tweet calling Ossoff a “super Liberal Democrat” who wants to “protect criminals, allow illegal immigration and raise taxes”. Ossoff dismissed Trump’s claims in a statement, calling him “misinformed”. Ossoff grew up in the 6th congressional district, where his family still lives, though as of the election he lived about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) outside the district’s boundaries. As a result, he was unable to vote for himself in the primary. Ossoff says that he temporarily lives in a neighboring district so that his girlfriend, Alicia, an Emory University medical student, may walk to the hospital where she works. His current home is only 10 minutes outside the 6th, and he intends to move back there after Alicia completes her medical studies.

Ossoff has been sharply critical of United States President Donald Trump. Ossoff said, “I have great respect for the office. I don’t have great personal admiration for the man himself.” He criticized Trump for a “divisive approach to government”.

In the April 19 primary result, no candidate received 50% of the vote in the nonpartisan blanket primary, also know as a “jungle primary”. Ossoff led with about 48.1% of the vote, Republican candidate Karen Handel received 19.8%, while the remainder of votes were scattered for 16 other candidates. Because no candidate secured an absolute majority, the top two-vote-getters, Ossoff and Handel, will compete in a runoff election on June 20, 2017. Ossoff won all but 1% of the Democratic vote, while the Republican vote was more heavily split. Republicans collectively won 51.2% of the overall vote.

— Wikipedia