For Georgia voters, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has been a part of the political landscape in the state for nearly a decade.
Ossoff ran in a special election for Georgia's sixth congressional district in 2017,
narrowly losing the race to Republican Karen Handel.
But in the nine years since, Ossoff not only ran a successful campaign to become a U.S. senator, but he now sits in the middle of a public feud with President Donald Trump as he fights for reelection in a key battleground state.
Ossoff is running against MAGA loyalist Rep. Mike Collins, and in a recent campaign speech in Atlanta, he commented on Trump's close relationship with his staffer,Natalie Harp. The clip went viral, launching widespread speculation about Harp's role in the White House and widespread criticism of Ossoff by conservative figures.
It has also helped launch Ossoff to the top of America's interest, adding his name to a list of potential 2028 presidential candidates, despite Ossoff repeatedly stating he would not run.
So as the Georgia senator gains more and more national attention, here are five things you should know about him:
Ossoff is the youngest sitting U.S. Senator
Jon Ossoff is 39 years old, making him the youngest sitting member of the U.S. Senate. He is not the youngest senator in history, as figures like Rush Holt Sr. and Joe Biden were only 30 years old when they were sworn into office. Ossoff was 33 years old when he was sworn into office in 2021.
He is, however, the youngest person elected to the Senate since 1980, and the youngest Democratic senator since Biden in 1972.
At 39, he is a decade older than the youngest member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Maxwell Frost (D-Florida), who is currently 29 years old.
Ossoff is married to Alisha Kramer, an obstetrician-gynecologist and assistant professor at the Emory University School of Medicine. They share two daughters, 4-year-old Eva and 1-year-old Lila.
Ossoff is Georgia's first Jewish senator
When elected in 2021, Ossoff became the first Jewish senator to represent Georgia in Washington, D.C. He is also the first Jewish senator from the Deep South since the 19th century.
In conversations with the American Jewish Committee, Ossoff shared that his father is of Russian and Lithuanian Jewish descent, and his relatives fled pogroms and antisemitism in Eastern Europe.
He was sworn in on a Tanakh, or the Hebrew Bible, that had previously belonged to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, a civil rights leader and rabbi of The Temple in Atlanta from 1946 to 1973. Ossoff earned his bar mitzvah at The Temple.
Ossoff serves on the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, but has received criticism for his votes against providing additional funding and weapons to Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Palestine.
John Lewis took Ossoff under his wing
Ossoff first stepped into politics as a young intern for former congressman John Lewis of Georgia. Ossoff was 16 when he met Lewis, but had already read his memoir "Walking With the Wind."
Lewis, a civil rights leader who led the historic 1965 Selma-Montgomery voting rights marches, has long been an inspiration to Ossoff and was a key mentor for the senator until he died in 2020.
In an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in February, Ossoff said growing up in Georgia and Atlanta meant he was "steeped in civil rights history," including the work of Lewis.
"I wrote a letter asking if I could meet him; that meeting led to a job, that job led to a lifelong friendship. And I never would have pursued elected office without his encouragement and his support," Ossoff said.
Ossoff was an investigative journalist before politics
Between his time in Lewis' office and his return to politics, Ossoff worked as an investigative journalist and media executive with Insight TWI (The World Investigates), a London-based company. Ossoff served as CEO from 2013 until joining the Senate in 2021.
Ossoff focused on stories of corruption and war crimes and exposed human trafficking, judicial corruption, bribery, and sexual slavery schemes.
The company was rebranded toInsight Film following Ossoff's departure.
Ossoff is credited as an executive producer on films like "Sing, Freetown," telling the story of a theater production company in Sierra Leone, and "Football's Darkest Secret," which investigated child abuse in English football.
“Just before I left to enter the Senate, we took the company to even greater heights with our BBC Three productions in Iraq, the BBC One series on child abuse in football, and a successful conclusion to ‘Sing, Freetown’ with [former BBC Storyville boss] Nick Fraser, significant projects that have been in development for a long time and told vital stories," Ossoff said in a 2021 interview with Variety. "The company is in the strongest position in its history, and that’s a great place for me to pass the torch.”
Jon Ossoff's name isn't Jon
He has been known as Jon for decades, but his legal name is Thomas Jonathon Ossoff.
Ossoff grew up in Atlanta and attended The Paideia School, a private K-12 school in Druid Hills. In college, Ossoff attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service before continuing on to complete a master's at the London School of Economics. He served as a legislative assistant for foreign affairs and defense policy under Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson until 2013, when he joined the Insight TWI team.
Irene Wright covers Georgia politics as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is the youngest senator? 5 things to know about Jon Ossoff
