Who is Jon Ossoff? First US millennial Senator wins reelection in Georgia, defeats Trump-backed Mike Collins

The first millennial elected to the US Senate, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, has secured a victory to represent Georgia for the second time. He defeated Republican challenger Mike Collins in a closely watched race that can soon shape the power dynamic in the US Senate.

Reuters, citing media projections, declared Ossoff the winner of the election race on November 3. His victory defends a Democratic seat in a state carried by Trump in 2024 by 2 percentage points.

Ossoff beat out Collins, a Republican congressman endorsed by Donald Trump. Reuters reported that Ossoff raised $126 million more than Collins, who also received $18 million in outside spending. Collins had been the winner of the Republican primary runoff, while Trump endorsed him instead of former college football coach Derek Dooley.

Who is Jon Ossoff

Ossoff was born in Atlanta in 1987. He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and obtained his master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

Before becoming a Senator, Ossoff was an investigative journalist who founded a small firm investigating corruption, human trafficking, and war crimes. He was also a national security advisor to Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson. Ossoff is married to Dr. Alisha Kramer, and they have two daughters named Eva and Lila.

Ossoff won his Senate seat for the first time in January 2021, beating the incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue in the runoff. This victory, together with Raphael Warnock’s defeat of Kelly Loeffler, enabled Democrats to take control of the Senate during President Joe Biden’s first two years in power.

In his 2021 victory, Ossoff came out as the youngest person elected to the Senate since 1980 at 33 years old and was the first Democrat sworn in to a full Senate term from Georgia in decades.