Georgia ‘s Jon Ossoff, who defeated Republican David Perdue in one of two runoff elections Tuesday, has a longstanding family connection to the North Shore.
Jon’s grandfather, Hyman Ossoff, was born and raised in Peabody and was a life-long resident of the area, eventually relocating to Marblehead. Jon’s father Richard, along with his Uncle David and Aunt Susan, all grew up in Marblehead as well.
Ossoff was one of two Democrats challenging Republican incumbents for the U.S. senate seat. Rev. Raphael Wornock defeated Kelly Loeffler in the other runoff.
Robert Wolf, a Marblehead native who knew the Ossoff family growing up, has been working to get Jon elected. Wolf served as an economic advisor to President Barack Obama, is the founder of a financial holding company called 32 Advisors (named for his high school and college football number) and a Democratic contributor to Fox News.
“I grew up on Atlantic Avenue, which is where the Ossoff family lived as well,” said Wolf, who graduated from Marblehead High School. “David and I were close growing up. His family were all great athletes.”
Ossoff family members are still scattered throughout the North Shore, in Swampscott, Beverly and Peabody.
Wolf met Jon Ossoff shortly before the pandemic and was impressed by him, eventually getting involved in the campaign by helping to host a Zoom event in support of the candidate.
“If you look at what the Democratic party stands for — health care as a right, treating immigrants the right way, smart gun reform, and looking at income inequality — he stands for what our country stands for and he’d make a great addition to the U.S. Senate,” said Wolf.
Ossoff is vital to the Democratic effort to take control of both houses of Congress.
Currently, Republicans control 50 Senate seats while Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) hold 48. If Ossoff wins Tuesday against Republican David Perdue, whose term expired Sunday, but is seeking his second term, and Rev. Raphael Warnock (D), who is also running for a Georgia Senate seat against incumbent Kelly Loeffler, wins as well, the Democrats will gain a slight edge in the Senate, since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris acts as a tie-breaking vote.
Ossoff, 33, born in Atlanta, is a documentary producer and CEO of Insight TWI, a media company that investigates corruption, organized crime, and war crimes for international news organizations. He has not yet held an elected office.
In 2017, he ran for Congress in Georgia’s 6th district, a longtime Republican stronghold, generating national attention and shattering the fundraising record for a congressional campaign, though he was narrowly defeated in a runoff.
This year, he has again shattered fundraising records, raising $139.6 million by Dec. 28, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Recently Perdue, a millionaire and formerly a prolific trader of individual stocks who was elected in 2015, sparked a Justice Department inquiry into his stock trades as a senator, the New York Times reported.
Of interest are his well-timed purchases of Pfizer stock in February, which were made after senators had been briefed on the COVID-19 threat.
In the Nov. 3 election against Perdue, neither candidate won more than 50 percent of votes, triggering the Tuesday runoff.
“I’m hopeful that he takes it tonight,” said Wolf. “I’d say that we’re cautiously optimistic, but it would be hard to swing 2 for 2.”
The latest polls from FiveThirtyEight showed Ossoff leading Perdue by 1.4 percentage points, and Warnock leading his Republican opponent Kelly Loeffler by 2 percentage points.
