ATLANTA — Incumbent Sen. David Perdue and challenger Jon Ossoff will officially head into a runoff, the Associated Press reports.
The Senate race between Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rev. Raphael Warnock is already officially set for a runoff.
Ossoff wasted no time kicking off this new part of the campaign and slamming his opponent at a rally in Grant Park on Friday.
“He refuses to debate in an open forum. Because he can not defend the indefensible," Ossoff said. "And retirement is coming for Senator David Perdue because the majority of Georgians have stood up to reject his request for a second term.”
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the Perdue campaign for several interviews since Election Day. So far, the campaign has chosen not to speak publicly but released this statement to Channel 2′s Justin Wilfon.
“The stakes in this election could not be higher: a vote for Jon Ossoff is a vote to hand power to Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats in Washington. Georgians won’t let that happen. Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are going to win these two U.S. Senate races, and we will defend the Republican majority. As votes continue to be counted, Senator David Perdue remains in first place with a commanding lead – that won’t change. We are excited for overtime – it gives us even more time to continue exposing Jon Ossoff and his radical socialist agenda. Jon Ossoff does two things well: burn through out-of-state liberal money and lose elections. Georgians will now get to watch him do both again.”
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Ossoff does have enough votes to force Perdue into the runoff, but he did not fare as well in Georgia as his fellow Democrat Joe Biden. He explained why he thought that was the case to Channel 2′s Justin Wilfon.
“Well the votes are still being counted,” he said. "So we’ll see what the final margins in both of these races. But the bottom line is that it’s clear a majority of Georgia voters have rejected Donald Trump and have rejected Senator Perdue’s bid for re-election.”
Wilfon spoke with Emory political science professor Bernard Fraga. He said with both of Georgia’s Senate races now likely heading for runoffs, what happens in January will determine the balance of power. "
“If you’re tired of the election ads you’ve been seeing since the beginning of the summer, get ready," he said. "Because we’re going to see an influx of cash spending and advertising here in Georgia.”
Runoff elections historically have not been great for Democrats. But Ossoff insists that he believes this time will be different.
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