The statement:
“Senator Perdue shouldn’t be afraid of debating me again. It can’t possibly go as badly for him as last time.” -Jon Ossoff tweet, Nov. 28
What we found:
In mid-November, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other news outlets reported that Republican Sen. David Perdue had declined an invitation to debate his Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff.
Within hours, Ossoff’s campaign announced that the Democrat had accepted six invitations to participate in live, televised debates leading up to the Jan. 5 Senate runoff election. “Despite news reports yesterday that Perdue declined at least one of these local news invitations, Ossoff is encouraging Perdue to take his pick from a list of options or meet the moment and accept all six,” the announcement said.
Credit: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The announcement quoted Ossoff using even stronger language to challenge Perdue. “This is one of the most consequential elections in Georgia history, unfolding amidst a health and economic crisis, but it appears Senator Perdue is too much of a coward to defend his record in a public debate. If Senator Perdue doesn’t want to answer questions, that’s fine, he just shouldn’t run for re-election to the U.S. Senate,” Ossoff said. “I offer the Senator any or all of these six debates, if he has the self-confidence to debate in public.”
Perdue’s campaign has since indicated that he will not participate in any debates before the runoff election, the AJC reported. Fox News on Nov. 16 reported that Ossoff “continues to insist that Perdue debate him as the senator has remained in Washington, D.C., and off the campaign trail, taking votes in the Senate.”
The Fox News report quoted Perdue communications director John Burke: “We’ve already had two debates in this election. In each, Ossoff lied repeatedly, and of course the media failed to hold him accountable.”
Even so, the Atlanta Press Club held Sunday’s “debate” as scheduled with Ossoff. “We will proceed with the debate and Sen. Perdue will be represented by an empty podium,” a statement on the organization’s website said.
The unusual circumstances provided an uncontested half-hour showcase for Ossoff, who was questioned in-depth by two panelists but faced no direct confrontation from his opponent. During the question-and-answer segment of the debate, “Ossoff was allowed to ask the podium the question he would have asked Perdue, and then answer the question himself,” the AJC reported.
Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and The Rev. Raphael Warnock, her Democratic opponent in the runoff, also debated one another Sunday.
On Twitter, Perdue’s only acknowledgment of the debate was a retweet of his own campaign team highlighting a moment when Ossoff said he would “rather not get bogged down in the details” of a second stimulus package. Otherwise, Perdue has not mentioned debating Ossoff since Oct. 29, when he tweeted, he had a “great debate victory” in Savannah the night before.
During that debate Ossoff called Perdue a “crook” and contrasted the senator’s public statements on the coronavirus with his stock trading activity. Ossoff’s attack resulted in a viral video clip that overshadowed the rest of the incumbent senator’s performance, the AJC reported.
After the video went viral, Perdue’s campaign forced the cancellation of a third planned debate against Ossoff before the general election, the AJC reported. Instead, the senator attended a rally with President Donald Trump. (Trump is scheduled to return to Georgia on Saturday.)
“Perdue might have a tactical reason to avoid more events,” the AJC reported Nov. 18, noting the viral clip. “He’s also recently recovered from knee surgery, which some supporters say has factored into his plans.”
In the general election, Perdue received more votes than either Ossoff or Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel. Perdue beat Ossoff by a little more than 88,000 votes but fell just shy of the 50%-plus-one margin needed to win the election, as required by Georgia law.
Strategically, Perdue may have little to gain from another debate. AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein wrote on Nov. 18 that, “Perdue already has broad support from fellow conservatives and one of the most famous names in Georgia politics.”
This stands in contrast to Loeffler, who faced a tough special election campaign against a wide-ranging field of opponents, including Republican Rep. Doug Collins, who was initially supported by Trump to be appointed to Georgia’s vacant Senate seat.
Whatever the reason for Perdue’s campaign to avoid further debates, the candidate’s lack of participation has fed into the Ossoff campaign’s narrative that Perdue “has been one of the least accessible Senators in Georgia history.”
Feedback: Send your campaign questions to senatewatch@ajc.com
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