During a debate Tuesday between candidates in the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, Republican candidate Karen Handel momentarily stunned her opponent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, with a simple question.
Each candidate was permitted to ask their opponent one question during the debate. When it was Handel’s turn, she asked, “So Jon, I guess what I would like to know is, exactly who are you going to vote for in this election?”
Ossoff, 30, lives outside of the district that he is running to represent and is therefore unable to vote in the election.
After Handel asked the question, Ossoff hesitated, and then asked, “Is that the question?”
Ossoff then said that he has addressed his place of residence “transparently” throughout his campaign. He said that he was born and raised in Georgia and that he is currently living near Emory University to support his fiancée, who is in medical school.
“I’m proud to be supporting her career, even if I take a little bit of political heat for it,” he said.
Ossoff said Handel, 55, was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and that residents of the Georgia district aren’t concerned about where he lives.
Handel replied, “Actually, it is of concern to the people of the 6th District that you do not live in our community.”
“And while I was born in Washington, D.C., I didn’t get to pick where I was born, but the fact is I’ve been in Georgia for almost as long as you’ve even been alive,” she said.
The special election will take place on June 20 to replace former Rep. Tom Price, who is now the secretary of Health and Human Services. According to Politico, the contentious special election will become the most expensive House race in U.S. history.
