Georgia Republican governor candidates go head-to-head in debate
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Two of the top Republican candidates for Georgia governor teed off in a spirited debate turned verbal brawl on Thursday.
Some of the issues discussed included election integrity, crime and the state’s economy.
“You haven’t fought for us. You let them steal the election, you won’t own up to it,” said David Perdue, a former Georgia senator. “Nobody this year has been prosecuted for what they did in 2020. That’s what people are upset about. That’s how you divided the party. The problem right now is people have lost confidence in you and lost confidence in the voting system.”
“Lord have mercy. There’s a lot of spaghetti being thrown on the wall again,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “You’re completely false. There’s been plenty of investigations. You’re the candidate that needs to go in the courtroom. You didn’t even ask for a recount. You didn’t contest the election. You were at home for a year and did nothing when we were passing the strongest elections integrity act in the country.”
After discussing the 2020 election, the two candidates talked money, with the State of Georgia’s GDP expected to be twice the national average in 2022. However, economists say predictions in Albany are not so peachy.
Many business owners and stakeholders in Albany think it will take at least another year to return to pre-pandemic levels, leaving the future of the local economy in the hands of candidates like Perdue and Kemp.
“David Perdue has a record of outsourcing jobs to China,” said Kemp. “Let’s make it clear, I want to bring jobs to Georgia. I’m going to continue to be for creating jobs in our state. Let’s talk about jobs in rural Georgia. Last year in a record year, we had $11 billion in new investment. (Some) 379 different projects. 74% of them were outside the 10 metro counties.”
“Do you believe anything you say,” Perdue replied. “He knows I’ve created tens of thousands of jobs in the United States.”
Both candidates left the question of the future of Albany’s economy still in demand.
WATCH THE FULL DEBATE BELOW:
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