By: Lisa Hagen
Democracy for America (DFA) is the latest major progressive group to throw its weight behind Jon Ossoff, a Democrat running for Georgia’s open House seat.
DFA touts Ossoff’s experience as a congressional aide and work in the private sector. Ossoff, 30, is currently an investigative filmmaker and a former aide to Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson.
National Democrats and progressive groups, like End Citizens United, have been coalescing around Ossoff as the party’s candidates ahead of the April 18 “jungle primary.” The race for Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s former seat is viewed as Democrats’ first opportunity to test if backlash to President Trump will help them flip House seats ahead of 2018.
“Electing Jon Ossoff isn’t just an opportunity for Georgia to reject Donald Trump’s hate-fueled agenda, it’s a chance to send a progressive leader from a new generation to Congress to fight for racial justice and against rapidly growing income inequality,” said DFA chairman Jim Dean.
“No single race for political office is going to signal the success or failure of the multiracial, multigenerational resistance movement that has emerged in Georgia and across the country to stand up to Donald Trump, but the grassroots campaign Jon is running is showing Democrats exactly how we need to fight.”
DFA’s support for Ossoff is the group’s first congressional endorsement since the 2016 election. The group, which was founded in 2004 by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic presidential primary.
Georgia’s 6th District is historically conservative, but Trump carried the Atlanta suburban district by just 1 point. And the open seat has captured national attention from Republicans and Democrats alike.
The House Democrats’ campaign arm is sending nine of its staffers to the district in support of Ossoff, and the group End Citizens United has already raised $150,000 for him, while readers of the liberal blog Daily Kos have so far contributed more than $1 million for his campaign.