Ossoff challenged Perdue in June to five, live televised debates before the general election
Perdue has not responded to Ossoff’s challenge
Perdue has still never held an in-person constituent town hall
Atlanta, Ga. — Today marks three months until Election Day, yet Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.) still refuses to debate his opponent, investigative journalist Jon Ossoff.
Days after winning the Democratic nomination in a landslide, Ossoff challenged Perdue to five, live televised debates throughout Georgia before the general election.
In June, Ossoff sent Perdue a letter, writing in part, “Georgians deserve to hear candidates for office debating these issues publicly. I am asking you to join me in committing to five live, televised debates sponsored by media organizations throughout our great state. Georgians deserve nothing less. I hope you agree to give the voters the debates they deserve.”
Perdue’s refusal to debate Ossoff is no surprise considering the first-term Senator has not held a single public constituent town hall while in office.
He continues to duck questions from reporters. He remains silent amidst demands for an apology from Georgia’s Jewish community after a digital ad from his campaign “lengthened and widened” Ossoff’s nose, a caricatured attack widely decried as anti-Semitic.
Perdue is also infamous for fleeing constituents who ask him questions. In 2018 he was caught on camera stealing a Georgia Tech student’s phone while being asked a question in-person and was also caught on camera fleeing into an airport bathroom to avoid questions.
Instead of holding public town halls, Perdue charges supporters thousands of dollars in exchange for his time and flaunts selling access to lobbyists for $7,500 corporate PAC checks.
Ossoff, on the other hand, is running an open and accessible statewide campaign, having already held and attended over 100 (free) town hall meetings, forums, and public events across Georgia, in-person and virtually, since launching his campaign last year.
Ossoff also continues to hold regular virtual town halls, where he takes live questions from Georgia voters across the state.
“Senator Perdue refuses to debate because he can’t defend his indefensible record of widespread disease, mass unemployment, and blatant self-dealing. Perdue has time to sell meetings for corporate PAC checks and trade medical and vaccine stocks during a pandemic, but he refuses to give Georgia voters the public debate they deserve,” said Ossoff.
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