Failed Democrat congressional candidate Jon Ossoff announced Monday he is launching a bid to challenge incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) for his U.S. Senate seat in Georgia in 2020.
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ossoff said he would formally kick off his bid on Tuesday and vowed to “mount a ruthless assault on corruption in our political system.”
“We have squandered trillions on endless war. We have squandered trillions on bailouts for failed banks. We have squandered trillions on tax cuts for wealthy donors. Then we’re told there’s nothing left over for the people,” the 32-year-old told the newspaper. “The corruption must be rooted out. And Sen. David Perdue is a caricature of Washington corruption.”
Appearing Monday evening on MSNBC’s The Last Word, Ossoff also cited Congress not taking up gun control legislation and political influence at scientific institutions as examples of corruption.
Ossoff said he will work to expand his network of supporters who helped him raise roughly $30 million in a 2017 special election he lost to Republican Karen Handel by about four points in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Nathan Brand called Ossoff an “unaccomplished, far-left candidate” in a statement.
Perdue’s isn’t the only Georgia Senate seat that Ossoff could have run for. A special election to fill the remaining two years of Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R) term will also be on the November 2020 ballot, after Isakson announced his retirement late last month due to health issues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.