Georgia Senate runoff candidates debated Sunday night. Here’s what we learned:
Three of the four candidates running for Georgia’s two Senate positions participated in a debate Sunday night hosted by Atlanta Press Club.
Democrat Jon Ossoff, challenging incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue, took questions for 30 minutes after his opponent declined to participate. Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat challenger Raphael Warnock later sparred for an hour. Here are four takeaways from the debate:
Loeffler on election winner
Loeffler was asked six times whether she believes President Donald Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden. Loeffler never directly answered the question, or a question about whether the election was rigged, repeating that Trump has a right to use “every legal recourse.”
“Look, it’s very clear that there were issues in this election,” she said. “There were 250 investigations open, including an investigation into one of my opponent’s organizations for voter fraud. We have to make sure that Georgians trust this process for what’s at stake in this election.”
Warnock on Supreme Court expansion
Asked twice whether he supported expanding the number of Supreme Court justices, Warnock declined to answer the question directly, instead noting it’s not something Georgia voters are talking to him about.
“As I move on across the state... people aren’t asking me about the courts and whether we should expand the courts,” he said. “I know that’s an interesting question for people inside the Beltway to discuss. But they’re wondering when in the world are they going to get some COVID-19 relief.”
Asked again about court expansion, Warnock said “I’m not really focused on it.”
“I believe in the Constitution,” he said. “This is the greatest system on the planet and our country is the only country where my story is even possible. I believe in our norms. I believe in the separation of powers.”
‘Socialism and Marxism’
Throughout the debate, Loeffler repeatedly characterized Warnock as a far-left socialist, referring to him 14 times throughout the night as “radical liberal Raphael Warnock.” She also called on Warnock to “renounce socialism and Marxism.”
“I believe in a free enterprise system,” Warnock responded. “My dad was a small business owner, and during the Great Recession, you know what I was doing? I was leading my church to build a community center where, among other things, we had a financial literacy center.”
Ossoff debates an empty lectern
For 30 minutes opposite an empty lectern, Ossoff criticized Perdue’s absence, COVID-19 response and stock market activity.
“It’s a strange situation to be asking a question of a sitting United States senator who is not here to debate, as he asks for the votes of the people to be reelected,” Ossoff said. “Sen. Perdue, I suppose, doesn’t feel that he can handle himself in debate, or perhaps is concerned that he may incriminate himself in debate, both of which, in my opinion, are disqualifying for U.S. senator seeking reelection.”
“Whatever the reason that Sen. Perdue is not with us today, I think what I would ask him is why he continues to oppose $1,200 stimulus checks for the American people at this moment of crisis. Why he fought against them in the first place, and why he isn’t in Washington right now, championing direct financial relief stimulus checks directly for American people who are suffering.”
In a statement following the debate, the Perdue campaign announced that Ossoff “lost.”
“Tonight we witnessed something we didn’t know was possible: a candidate lost a debate against himself. An epic failure. Jon Ossoff came out in support of blanket amnesty, a national lock down, and made clear he doesn’t want to ‘get bogged down in the details’ about additional COVID relief. These are serious times and Jon Ossoff just showed how unserious— and unprepared— he really is.”
Zoe Katz is an Election SOS fellow covering the 2020 election for the Macon Telegraph. She is a Georgia-based writer and recent graduate of Agnes Scott College.