Associated Press: Perdue Seeks Payoff From Trump Loyalty in Georgia Runoff
Associated Press: Perdue Seeks Payoff From Trump Loyalty in Georgia Runoff
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — In 2014, David Perdue introduced himself to Georgia voters as a corporate executive capable of bringing pragmatism to a Congress depicted in his first TV ad as a bunch of diaper-clad, crying babies.
“Help me change the childish behavior up there,” he asked voters in his winning campaign for U.S. Senate.
Since then, the Republican who promised level-headed maturity in Washington has been swept up in the tornado of Donald Trump’s White House. Perdue became one of the Senate’s chief defenders of a president known for schoolyard insults and who still refuses to accept his own election defeat.
Now Perdue is at the center of one of the most intense Senate races in recent memory, fighting for reelection in a Jan. 5 runoff election that will determine which party controls the Senate. It’s an unexpected role for a politician described even by close allies as someone who doesn’t stir strong passions.
Some question whether Perdue used his office for personal gain. Senate financial disclosures show stock trades during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic allowed him to avoid steep losses and reap big gains.
During an October debate, Ossoff accused Perdue of downplaying the health crisis while “looking after your own assets.” Perdue spokesman John Burke has said the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee all examined Perdue’s trading and found no grounds for criminal charges or ethics violations.
Regardless, Perdue’s stock trades remain troubling, said Beth Rotman of the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause.
“It looks terrible if people are coming out of sessions of Congress and getting wealthy on their own at a time when everyday Americans are suffering,” Rotman said.