Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue has declined an invitation to debate Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff ahead of the January runoff election for his seat. While Ossoff has accepted six invitations from various media organizations for debates between now and Jan. 5, Perdue has said no to a Dec. 6 debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club. Perdue’s campaign manager said, “We’ve already had two debates in this election,” and made it clear that Perdue has no intention of debating Ossoff again.
“The Atlanta Press Club is disappointed that Sen. David Perdue has decided to not participate in his debate,” the organization said in a statement. “Jon Ossoff has confirmed his participation, so according to our rules, we will proceed with the debate, and Sen. Perdue will be represented by an empty podium.”
This isn’t the first time Perdue has refused to debate Ossoff. He dropped out of their final scheduled debate leading up to the Nov. 3 election to attend a rally held by Donald Trump instead. Ossoff responded to the news by tweeting, “Looks like Sen. David Perdue is too much of a coward to debate me again. Senator, come on out and try to defend your record. I’m ready to go.”
The last debate between these two on October 28 drew national attention after clips in which Ossoff labeled Perdue a “crook” and accused him of profiting off China amassed millions of views online. Both Georgia Senate seats are on the ballot in the runoff election of Jan. 5.
