6th District Race: Handel, Ossoff To Face Off In Debate Tuesday Night

EAST COBB, GA -- Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff will face off in a debate Tuesday night. The debate is hosted by Atlanta TV station WSB-TV and the station will broadcast it live beginning at 8 p.m.

In a sign of the importance the Democratic and Republican parties are putting on President Trump's popularity on the local level, Georgia's 6th District contest between Handel and Ossoff is now the most expensive House race in the nation's history. To get notified of the local election news like this, click here to sign up for the East Cobb Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

The race to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom Price, who vacated the seat to become the nation's health secretary, has benefited from an outpouring of cash from outside groups determined to sway the biggest election of 2017 thus far.

WSB news anchor Justin Farmer will moderate the debate, which will include a panel made up of local journalists, including the Atlanta-Journal Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein, WSB Radio’s Condace Pressley, and WSB-TV political reporter Richard Elliot.

In a move that may signal his intentions to focus on local issues only, Ossoff last week declined to participate in an Atlanta Press Club-CNN debate, which was proposed by the news channel to air nationally.

Tuesday's debate comes as Handel released another TV ad, this time echoing a talking point first highlighted by Republican-leading PACs: that Ossoff exaggerated his claim of having a security clearance when he was in Washington as a congressional aide.

In the ad, Army veteran Grant McGarry, who served as a sargeant, takes Ossoff to task for saying he served on the front lines against ISIS. "I fought for our country. Jon Ossoff hired a film crew," McGarry deadpans in the video.

The debate will be livestreamed on WSBTV.com and the official WSB-TV Facebook page.

Image via Patch file photo