Georgia Senate candidates Ossoff and Perdue face off in first debate

ATLANTA - U.S. Senator David Perdue went head-to-head with Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff in a televised debate Monday as recent polls show them running neck and neck in the race.

The frontrunners attacked each other out the gate. Senate candidates appeared from separate locations. The first debate of their U.S. Senate race was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic Monday afternoon. Ossoff repeatedly hammered Senator Perdue on his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Which has killed nearly 220,000 Americans after you assured us the risk to our health was low and compared it to the common flu," said Ossoff.

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Perdue called Ossoff an extreme liberal.

"He wants to defund the police. He wants open borders. He wants the ‘Green New Deal.’ He wants to cut and close military bases in Georgia. He wants to force socialized medicine on us," Perdue said.

This is Ossoff's first run at a statewide office and with early voting now underway in Georgia and three weeks until Election Day on November 3, he is running even with the first-term lawmaker in recent polling. Ossoff told viewers the nation is in crisis.

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"Our healthcare is on the line. This is a matter of life and death. It's time to vote and make a change in this country," said Ossoff.

The incumbent touted his track record.

"In my 40-year business career, I learned how to create tens of thousands of jobs and I took that to Washington to make a difference and get results for Georgia. We created the greatest turnaround in U.S. history after 8 years of total economic disaster under Barack Obama and Joe Biden," said Perdue.

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