Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff officially clinched the nomination for the Senate on Wednesday night, over 24 hours after polls closed. Ossoff managed to emerge from the three-way primary with a majority of the vote and avoid a runoff election.
Ossoff will face GOP incumbent Sen. David Perdue in November, Georgia’s “original outsider.” Sen. Perdue’s campaign blasted Ossoff as part of the “liberal elite” with “zero real world accomplishments:”
“Now more than ever, Georgians need outsider David Perdue and his experienced leadership in the U.S. Senate. While Jon Ossoff is a favorite of liberal elites and Hollywood celebrities, he will be nothing but a rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and their radical agenda,” Sen. Perdue’s campaign manager, Ben Fry, said in a release.
Ossoff had a wide name-identification advantage over his opponents Teresa Tomlinson and Sarah Riggs-Amico, after his 2017 congressional bid in the special election for the seat held by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. His nearly $30 million dollar bid for the House ultimately ended in a GOP hold early in President Trump’s first term in office, but put Ossoff on the map.
The @GeorgiaDemocrat’s nominated failed congressional candidate and part-time documentary filmmaker as their nominee. Besides burning more than $30 million in his 2017 bid, @ossoff has no noteworthy accomplishments to speak of. #GAsen #GApol https://t.co/P7N7Ga1A3R
— Team Perdue (@TeamPerdue) June 11, 2020
Ossoff’s previous bid for Congress was bolstered by out of state donors, while Ossoff was not even a resident in the district, as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) points out:
"Jon Ossoff may be one of the most unprepared and unaccomplished individuals ever to seek this office," said NRSC spokesperson Nathan Brand. "His reliance on an embellished resume, insider liberal connections, and campaign cash from far-left New York and Hollywood donors is why Georgia voters can't trust Ossoff to represent their values. This race will end like Ossoff’s other political adventures – in embarrassing defeat."
Sen. Perdue’s re-election bid is rated as a “Lean Republican” race by The Cook Political Report.