Instagram/@jonossoff Jon Ossoff and wife Alisha Kramer.
Jon Ossoff, the Democratic candidate for one of Georgia’s seats in the U.S. Senate, is married to wife Alisha Kramer. The couple started dating as teenagers and were together for more than a decade before Ossoff proposed in 2017. Ossoff and Kramer do not have any children.
Ossoff faced incumbent Senator David Perdue on January 5 in a runoff election. The race was very close but CBS News and the Associated Press have called the election for Ossoff.
Here’s what you need to know about Ossoff’s wife:
1. Alisha Kramer Is an OB/GYN at Emory University Hospital
Georgia Composite Medical BoardDr. Alisha Kramer is married to Georgia politician Jon Ossoff.
Kramer studied at the Emory University School of Medicine. According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated with her medical degree in 2018.
Kramer is a resident physician at Emory University Hospital. According to the Georgia Composite Medical Board, her current “Residency Training Permit” was issued in June 2019. She will need to renew it in June 2021.
Kramer lent her medical expertise to her husband’s senatorial campaign. In October 2020, she joined him during a Facebook chat to answer voter questions about health care. Ossoff introduced her as “my favorite person in the whole world, my best friend, my wife, the amazing Doctor Alisha Kramer, OB/GYN, who is my hero and my role model and my guide.”
Kramer also recorded a campaign ad for Ossoff. In the clip, she discussed how some of her patients struggled to afford health care and said her husband would focus on making sure quality health care was accessible if he was elected to the Senate.
2. Kramer Testified Against Georgia’s ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Before the State Senate in 2019
Ossoff is the one running for elected office but Kramer has also used her voice in the political sphere. In March 2019, Kramer testified before the Georgia State Senate alongside fellow gynecologist Preetha Nandi, who also attended Emory’s medical school.
The two testified against Georgia’s “heartbeat” bill. House Bill 481, the Living Infant Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, made abortions illegal in Georgia once a fetal heartbeat was detected. A heartbeat can typically be heard at six weeks, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
As the Jurist reported, Georgia’s law included stiff sentences for doctors who performed abortions after the heartbeat was detected: prison terms ranging from one to 10 years. The Medical Association of Georgia opposed the bill.
Ossoff shared a video of Kramer’s testimony to his Instagram account. Kramer argued before the committee, “Regardless of our personal beliefs on abortion, I think we can all agree that when any one of us go to our doctor, we expect the privacy, respect, and dignity of a confidential consultation. We expect to be offered all available options so that we can make the right decision for us. We do not expect politicians to presume to understand our medical needs better than we and our doctors do. But this bill takes medical decision-making power away from patients and puts that power into the hands of government. We hope this committee will consider in good faith the critical importance patient autonomy and the lethal consequences of worsening physician shortage.”
The heartbeat bill became law. But in July 2020, District Judge Steve C. Jones decided the measure violated the 14th Amendment and blocked it. As Time reported, Gov. Brian Kemp said his office would appeal the ruling.
3. Kramer Consulted Patients Remotely After Contracting the Coronavirus in July 2020
In mid-July, Ossoff’s wife tested positive for the coronavirus. Kramer was diagnosed on July 25 after experiencing mild symptoms, Ossoff shared on social media.
In an official statement, Ossoff’s campaign praised Kramer for her work as a physician: “Dr. Kramer, like so many health care workers, puts herself at risk to care for Georgia’s pregnant women, delivering mothers and newborn babies. She is a hero.”
Ossoff also experienced symptoms but ultimately tested negative. His campaign shared that he had not participated in any in-person campaign events for at least a month prior to his wife’s positive test.
Ossoff shared that while Kramer recuperated from COVID-19, she was able to consult with patients remotely. The day after her diagnosis, Ossoff appeared on CNN and pointed fingers at President Donald Trump for his administration’s handling of the virus. Ossoff shared the interview on Instagram and wrote, “The bottom line is health care workers like Alisha have been doing their jobs. And a lot of them are sick. But GOP politicians from Trump on down let this spiral into a catastrophe. Facts.”
In March 2020, Kramer recorded a video alongside her husband to encourage people to social distance, to stay home if possible and to wash hands regularly. Ossoff stressed that people needed to listen to medical professionals like his wife.
4. Kramer Attended Georgetown University & Earned a Master’s Degree From the London School of Economics
Jon Ossoff and Alisha Kramer in 2017. (Getty)
Before embarking on her medical career, Kramer attended Georgetown University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in “Biology of Global Health” in 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. As Heavy previously reported, Kramer also played Ultimate Frisbee at Georgetown and served as team captain of the Huckin’ Foyas.
During her undergraduate career, Kramer also studied health care in northern Europe. She participated in a program at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in 2010. According to her Emory resident profile, Kramer also has a master’s degree in health policy from the London School of Economics.
In the two years between graduating from Georgetown and starting medical school, Kramer worked as a program manager and research assistant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. According to its website, the bipartisan group’s mission is to “define the future of national security.”
5. Kramer & Ossoff Grew Up Together & Dated for 12 Years Before He Popped the Question
Jon Ossoff and Alisha Kramer in April 2017.
Kramer, like her husband, is an Atlanta native. They both attended the Paideia School, an independent private school located in the Druid Hills neighborhood.
Ossoff and Kramer attended Paideia at the same time but were never in class together because Ossoff is three years older than Kramer. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2017, after he proposed to Kramer, that they had been dating for 12 years. That means Ossoff would have been 18 and Kramer 15 when they became a couple. He was born in February 1987 and she in February 1990, according to a search of online records.
Kramer was a teenage athlete, according to an essay she wrote for the College Women’s Ultimate Resources Manual in 2011. Kramer shared in the piece that she played basketball, participated in gymnastics and started playing Ultimate Frisbee as a high school freshman.
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