ATLANTA — In a wide-ranging interview with 11Alive Monday morning, US Senate candidate Jon Ossoff focused on the urgency of the pandemic and his immediate priorities, were he to be elected.
From the front porch of his home in Grant Park, the Democratic candidate also criticized President Trump and his opponent, Senator David Perdue, for downplaying the virus.
“The fact that this administration and its allies, like David Perdue, told us COVID-19 was no deadlier than the flu - that’s a direct quote - undermined our capacity to prepare as a country and politicized the question on how to respond to the virus,” Ossoff said.
Neither candidate vying for the Senate seat got more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 3 and are now in a runoff race scheduled for Jan. 5. Over the past few weeks, Ossoff and Perdue’s campaign events could not look any more different.
The Republican senator has held some rallies indoors, with few people wearing masks. An event in Marietta on Nov. 11 shows a small room with dozens of supporters inside.
The same day, Ossoff held an event in Macon. It was outdoors and people remained largely six feet away. Everyone wore masks.
“We’re losing more than a thousand Americans a day to this virus. It is spreading completely out of control and there is no coordinated federal response,” Ossoff said.
As of last week, the White House Coronavirus Task Force put Georgia back in the "red zone" - like most of country - for increasing infections. If elected, Ossoff said he plans to let public health officials dictate how to respond.
“I would defer to the experts at the CDC who know what they’re doing," the 33-year-old said. "The problem that we’ve had during the pandemic is that politicians have refused to acknowledge the limitations of their own knowledge. They’ve suppressed public health experts."
Ossoff, whose wife is an OBGYN in Atlanta, said he plans to take the vaccine.
"When public health authorities rule that it is safe and effective, then I’ll be getting immunized and encouraging others to do the same,” he said.
If sent to the U.S. senate, Ossoff said his first legislative priority would be to get a stimulus plan approved and to get hospitals more resources.
Ossoff added he’s adhering to the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and not traveling for Thanksgiving. Instead, he and his wife will celebrate together at home.