2020 Georgia Senatorial race: debates and news coverage


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     David Perdue: Backed ban on most abortions after six weeks.     Jon Ossoff: Will only confirm judges pledged to uphold Roe v. Wade.     Shane Hazel: Government has helped execute over 70 million babies.     Jon Ossoff: Will only vote to confirm judges who will uphold Roe v. Wade.     Raphael Warnock: Supports Roe and a woman's right to choose.     Teresa Tomlinson: A woman is the sole fiduciary of her body and any pregnancy.     Johnny Isakson: Returned from surgery to defund Planned Parenthood.

Budget & Economy     Jon Ossoff: COVID: Another round of $1,200 stimulus checks.     Jon Ossoff: Republican Senate will mean paralysis and gridlock.     Jon Ossoff: For stricter government oversight; cut duplicate programs.     David Perdue: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a "rogue agency".     Jon Ossoff: More regulation of banks, reinstate Glass-Steagall Act.     Shane Hazel: Government has no Constitutional authority for stimulus.     David Perdue: Supported Opportunity Zones to incentivize investment.     Jon Ossoff: COVID: Put families & small business ahead on relief.     David Perdue: For Paycheck Protection Program, pro-market solutions.     Jon Ossoff: COVID: we need more direct relief from federal government.     Jon Ossoff: Upgraded infrastructure foundation for decades of prosperity.     Jon Ossoff: Investment in infrastructure is overdue.     Teresa Tomlinson: Invest in infrastructure for rural farmers.     Jon Ossoff: Fund public media, guarantee editorial independence.

Civil Rights     David Perdue: Supreme Court overstepped in legalizing same-sex marriage.     Jon Ossoff: Supports LGBTQ rights & Equality Act.     Shane Hazel: Let gay couples defend pot farms with machine guns.     Jon Ossoff: We need a new Civil Rights Act to deal with systemic bias.     Jon Ossoff: For Equality Act, opposes any military ban.     Jon Ossoff: Can no longer go down a path of racism.     Teresa Tomlinson: Expand Voting Rights Act; end voter suppression.     Ted Terry: Made Election Day a city holiday.     Ted Terry: Registered 8000 new Americans as voters over six years.     Teresa Tomlinson: Add sexual orientation & gender identity to Civil Rights Act.     Ted Terry: Prioritize Equality Act; overturn transgender military ban.     Brian Kemp: OpEd: refuses to process thousands of voter registrations.     David Perdue: OpEd: avoids voter suppression questions.     John James: Trump policies good for African-Americans & elevate everyone.

Corporations     Jon Ossoff: Reinstate Glass-Steagall; end speculative trading.

Crime     David Perdue: Need police reform, but vast majority of cops are honorable.     Jon Ossoff: Establish national standards for use of force by police.     Shane Hazel: Release all non-violent offenders; end drug war.     Jon Ossoff: Crimes under Trump: act prudently, but accountability.     Jon Ossoff: Demilitarize the police; ban private prisons.     Jon Ossoff: Reverse militarization of police; ban private prisons.     Jon Ossoff: Don't defund the police; answer is to reform the police.     Teresa Tomlinson: End abuse of cash bail bonds & for-profit prisons.     Teresa Tomlinson: Fund reentry programs and restore voting rights to ex-felons.     Ted Terry: Supports "civilian-led policing" board hiring, firing police.     David Perdue: Supports expanding rights of crime victims.     David Perdue: Supported First Step Act with restrictions.     David Perdue: Opposed Sentencing Reform Act as too lenient.

Drugs     David Perdue: Supports medical marijuana, not recreational use.     Jon Ossoff: Past time to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis.     Shane Hazel: End wars, including the drug war.     Shane Hazel: Marijuana is a right.     Teresa Tomlinson: Remove marijuana from Controlled Substance Act schedule.     Teresa Tomlinson: End sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine.     Ted Terry: Decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Education     David Perdue: Supports school choice including private schools.     David Perdue: Free tuition is what Soviets, Nazis, Cubans, Venezuelans did.     Jon Ossoff: Supports debt forgiveness; tuition free state schools.     Shane Hazel: Never pay for college loans; they chose to take on debt.     Shane Hazel: Eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.     David Perdue: Helped secure permanent funding for HBCUs.     Jon Ossoff: Make trade school, vocational training, public colleges free.     Teresa Tomlinson: Led the fight to save women's college from shutting down.

Energy & Oil     David Perdue: Support withdrawal from Paris Agreement.     Jon Ossoff: Climate change is a major threat, invest in clean energy.     Shane Hazel: No government funding for renewable energy.     Teresa Tomlinson: Clean economy will create jobs, lower energy costs.     Ted Terry: Commitment to 100% clean energy transition.     Ted Terry: Climate change is personal because I'm 36, will be around.

Environment     David Perdue: Roll back stifling Obama-era regulations.     Jon Ossoff: Reverse Trump rollbacks of environmental standards.     Jon Ossoff: Aggressive protection of endangered species and habitats.

Foreign Policy     Jon Ossoff: Supports Israel, continuing U.S. military aid.     David Perdue: Voted against blocking arm sales to Saudi Arabia.     Jon Ossoff: Supports blocking arm sales to Saudi Arabia.     Shane Hazel: US in 150 countries is for international aristocrats.     Jon Ossoff: US should play active role in Israel/Palestine diplomacy.     Teresa Tomlinson: My support for Israel is unshakable.     Teresa Tomlinson: Restore and support our traditional alliances.     David Perdue: Defends Trump on Putin; must engage with Russia.     David Perdue: National debt impacts our foreign policy.     David Perdue: US should provide aid to encourage development.

Free Trade     David Perdue: Reluctantly came to support Trump steel, aluminum tariffs.     David Perdue: Aggressively imported cheap Chinese products as CEO.     Shane Hazel: Remove barriers to international trade.     Jon Ossoff: Attack unfair practices by overseas competitors.     Teresa Tomlinson: Reject policies that put our farmers at disadvantage.     David Perdue: Supports USMCA trade agreement to replace NAFTA.

Government Reform     David Perdue: OpEd: Refusal to debate seemed lordly and dismissive.     Jon Ossoff: Perdue lying about stock trades is totally unacceptable.     David Perdue: Republican Secretary of State should resign over election.     David Perdue: Idea of voter suppression is a lie out of the pit of hell.     David Perdue: Strong advocate for Congressional term limits.     Jon Ossoff: End Citizens United; get dark money out of politics.     Jon Ossoff: We need a new Voting Rights Act.     Jon Ossoff: Trying to take away sacred right to vote is disgraceful.     Jon Ossoff: Open to discussing getting rid of filibuster.     Jon Ossoff: Open to term limits for federal judges.     Shane Hazel: No regulation of indirect campaign contributions.

Gun Control     David Perdue: Ample guns laws on the books; supports background checks.     Jon Ossoff: Supports background checks, assault weapon ban.     Shane Hazel: Repeal all gun laws; strictly interpret 2nd Amendment.     Jon Ossoff: Background checks; red flag laws; assault weapon ban.     Teresa Tomlinson: Universal background checks; assault weapon ban.     Ted Terry: 2nd Amendment doesn't mean unfettered access to guns.

Health Care     Jon Ossoff: Supports public option over Medicare-for-All.     David Perdue: Repeal fining poor because they can't afford ObamaCare.     David Perdue: COVID: We've done everything we could.     Jon Ossoff: Improve ACA, not repeal it.     Jon Ossoff: COVID: Trump's response "gross incompetence".     Jon Ossoff: COVID: out of control because government ignored science.     Shane Hazel: Have state and fed remove themselves from healthcare.     Jon Ossoff: Expand Medicaid, invest in new public health clinics.     David Perdue: Market based solutions, crack down on fraud in Medicare.     David Perdue: Incentivize drug manufacturers to lower prices.     David Perdue: Invest in equipping vulnerable populations.     Jon Ossoff: Will oppose ongoing efforts to defund Medicare.     Jon Ossoff: Empower Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.     Jon Ossoff: More federal support for eldercare in America.     Jon Ossoff: Ensure all Americans have insurance, for public option.     Teresa Tomlinson: Lower Medicare eligibility to 55, offer public option.     Teresa Tomlinson: Concerned about closure of rural hospitals.

Homeland Security     Shane Hazel: Abolish the Veterans Administration.     David Perdue: US must address global security crisis with strong defense.

Immigration     David Perdue: Citizenship for DACA tied to cutting immigration.     Jon Ossoff: DREAMers are Americans and here to stay.     Jon Ossoff: Strengthen borders, path for undocumented immigrants.     Teresa Tomlinson: End family separation & citizenship for DREAMers.     Ted Terry: Refugees exemplify the best of what America offers.     Shane Hazel: Shut off the welfare magnet; have troops patrol border.

Jobs     David Perdue: Co-sponsored National Right-to-Work Act.     David Perdue: Raising minimum wage kills jobs.     Jon Ossoff: Minimum wage should be livable wage.     Teresa Tomlinson: Support right to organize & protect benefits.     Teresa Tomlinson: Raise minimum wage to $15 with cost of living adjustments.     Ted Terry: Raised city minimum wages to $15 an hour.

Principles & Values     Jon Ossoff: Refusal to debate shows arrogance & sense of entitlement.     Jon Ossoff: Standard for Senators higher than not being prosecuted.     Jon Ossoff: On Day One, I'll place my stock portfolio in a blind trust.     Jon Ossoff: Criticizes "cultural elitism" of Hollywood.     David Perdue: COVID: Stock trades came under investigation.     Shane Hazel: Individual right to beliefs, including spreading Gospel.     David Perdue: Strong supporter of judges in the mold of Antonin Scalia.     Jon Ossoff: Multiracial coalition with shared values emerging.     David Perdue: Mocked Kamala Harris's first name at Trump rally.     Raphael Warnock: Youngest pastor to lead Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church.     Jon Ossoff: Dedicated my career to fighting corruption.     Jon Ossoff: His faith informs his approach to politics.     Ted Terry: Prefers evidence-based policy making.

Social Security     Shane Hazel: Taxation is theft; Social Security is a giant Ponzi scheme.     David Perdue: Return to sensible budgeting to stabilize Social Security.     Jon Ossoff: Strengthen and protect Social Security benefits.

Tax Reform     Jon Ossoff: Doesn't support increase in income tax rates.     David Perdue: Trump tax cuts having a positive impact across the country.     Jon Ossoff: We borrow trillions to cut taxes for the wealthy.     Shane Hazel: Taxation is theft.     Jon Ossoff: Lower taxes for all but the wealthiest Americans.

War & Peace     David Perdue: Opposed requiring Congressional approval of attack on Iran.     Shane Hazel: Our policy should be that of non-intervention.     Shane Hazel: Forever wars are killing us; #EndTheWars.     Teresa Tomlinson: Congress should vote on war actions, including Afghanistan.     Teresa Tomlinson: Sanctions against Iran, but diplomacy as well.     David Perdue: North Korean sanctions prove diplomacy succeeds.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Brian Kemp Georgia Republican candidate for Governor David Perdue Republican challenger Georgia John James Republican Senate challenger Michigan Johnny Isakson Republican Jr Senator; previously Representative Georgia Jon Ossoff Democratic Senate challenger Georgia Raphael Warnock Democratic Challenger Georgia Shane Hazel Libertarian Senate nominee Georgia Ted Terry Democratic Senate challenger Georgia Teresa Tomlinson Democratic 2020 Senate Challenger Georgia