Ossoff thanks Sanders for endorsement, but won’t reciprocate

Image by Getty Images
During a CNN interview Sunday, Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff thanked Sen. Bernie Sanders for supporting him in his run-off race against Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue — but wouldn’t return the favor.
“I appreciate the senator’s support, and Iook forward to working with him to fight for a $15 minimum wage, to put the interests of working families ahead of corporate lobbyists in Washington, to address this climate crisis, invest in clean energy and look out for ordinary people for a change, instead of people who have bought access to power in Washington,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff evaded the question of whether he would endorse Sanders as labor secretary, or whether he’d like Sanders to campaign with him in Georgia.
“I’m not making recommendations to the administration on cabinet picks,” Ossoff said.
The 79-year-old Democratic Socialist has been a divisive figure in the Democratic party, and while he has energized some of the party’s youth and left flank, his support may be a liability in a traditionally red state like Georgia.
Regardless, Ossoff was quickly attacked by Perdue for any association with Sanders, reported the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Perdue campaign sent out a statement accusing Ossoff of “casually praising radical socialists and their dangerous agendas”
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
