Ossoff calls Perdue a 'coward' for skipping debate ahead of runoff

• The Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff debated an empty podium Sunday night in Atlanta after his opponent, Republican Sen. David Perdue, declined to participate.
• Ossoff is challenging Perdue in one of two US Senate runoffs, set to take place in Georgia on January 5, that will determine control of the US Senate.
• After sharing what he would've asked Perdue had Perdue appeared at the debate, Ossoff said, "If the senator were not too much of a coward to debate in public, then that's what I'd ask him."
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The Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff debated an empty podium Sunday night in Atlanta.

Ossoff is challenging Republican Sen. David Perdue in one of the two US Senate runoffs in Georgia, scheduled for January 5, that together will determine which party controls the Senate.

A debate moderator asked Ossoff what he would've asked Perdue had the senator agreed to appear at the debate.

"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," Ossoff said. "Why he fought against them in the first place, and why he isn't in Washington right now championing direct financial relief."

"If the senator were not too much of a coward to debate in public, then that's what I'd ask him," he said.

—Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) December 7, 2020

Ossoff also said his opponent might be concerned about incriminating himself over personal financial investments that have come under scrutiny. The senator has denied any wrongdoing.

When Perdue declined to participate in the debate, his campaign manager, Ben Fry, told the Associated Press, "We've already had two debates in this election."

"We're going to take our message about what's at stake if Democrats have total control of Congress directly to the people," he said.

Perdue appeared at a campaign event Saturday night alongside President Donald Trump, who spent much of the time contesting his own election results, and GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is running in the other runoff election.

Unlike Perdue, Loeffler did participate in a debate with her challenger, the Democrat Raphael Warnock, on Sunday. She again declined to acknowledge that Trump lost the election to Joe Biden.

Democrats need to win both runoff races to take control of the Senate, something experts says Biden would need to accomplish much of his policy agenda at the outset of his term.