Democratic nominee for Senate Jon Ossoff destroyed his Georgia Republican incumbent opponent, Senator David Perdue, at Wednesday night’s debate. A clip of the video has gone viral, garnering 6 million views overnight.
The race is about as tight as it gets, with Perdue up in the polls by an average of less than one point, just .6%.
Ossoff ran for the House in a 2017 special election but lost in a close race by about 9000 votes. On Wednesday he appeared determined to make up for that.
“Well perhaps Senator Perdue would have been able to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic if you hadn’t been fending off multiple federal investigations for insider trading,” Ossoff says at the start of the clip.
“It’s not just that you’re a crook, Senator, it’s that you’re attacking the health of the people that you represent,” Ossoff charged.
“You did say COVID-19 was no deadlier than the flu. You did say there would be no uptick in cases,” Ossoff continued. “All the while, you were looking after your own assets, and your own portfolio, and you did vote four times to end protections for pre-existing conditions.”
“Four times,” Ossoff repeated, battering Perdue with his own record.
“Can you look down the camera and tell the people of this state why you voted four times to allow insurance companies to deny us health coverage, because we may suffer from diabetes, or heart disease, or asthma, or have cancer in remission?” Ossoff demanded to know, as Perdue just stood by silently. “Why, Senator?”
Social media users cheered on Ossoff standing up for voters, especially those in need of care.