Democrat Jon Ossoff wins Georgia primary, will face GOP Sen. David Perdue

Jon Ossoff, the 33-year-old media executive who narrowly lost a 2017 special U.S. House race in suburban Atlanta, will face Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in November after winning Tuesday's Democratic primary outright, The Associate Press reports. As of Wednesday night, Ossoff had about 50.7 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff election. Georgia's voting problems Tuesday and a surge in absentee ballots delayed the election results.

Ossoff said in his live-streamed victory speech Wednesday night that Perdue was "too busy adjusting his stock portfolio to warn us of the gravest public health emergency in a century," the coronavirus pandemic. "This is not a moment to let up — this is a moment to double down," he added. "The president of the United States and his allies in Congress are leading this country down a dark path and we can go down this path no longer. We can no longer go down a path of authoritarianism, of racism, of corruption. We are better than this and Georgia is better than this."

Ossoff, whose company produces investigative reports on crime and corruption, is trying to lash Perdue to President Trump. Perdue campaign manager Ben Fry hit back on Wednesday night, saying Ossoff's "only notable achievement is spending millions of dollars on his failed congressional bid."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.