美国国家公共电台 NPR Costliest Congressional Race In History Sees First Debate

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The two candidates running for an open House seat in Georgia held their first debate last night. NPR's Brian Naylor reports on the race that has become the most expensive congressional campaign in American history.

BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE¹: Nearly $30 million has been raised by the candidates and outside groups hoping to win Georgia's 6th Congressional District in the suburbs north of Atlanta. And all that money lead to some tough sparring last night between Democrat² Jon Ossof and Republican Karen Handel in the studios of WSB-TV. Handel said Ossof was fueling the cash influx³.

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KAREN HANDEL: My opponent has more donors⁴ and more dollars coming from outside of the state of Georgia. They are coming from Nancy Pelosi, California, New York, Massachusetts. He doesn't want the people of Georgia to know that he is a liberal Democrat.

NAYLOR: In fact, Ossof has raised more than $8 million - most of it online, much of it from Democrats⁵ anxious to send a message to President Trump⁶. Ossof said his support came from small donors.

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JON OSSOF: The average contribution to my campaign is less than $50. And in stark⁷ contrast, Secretary Handel, like so many career politicians in both parties who are mired⁸ in gridlock in Washington, has had her campaign bailed⁹ out by anonymous¹⁰ Washington super PACs who are spending unprecedented¹¹ amounts on attack ads here.

NAYLOR: Echoing some of his TV ads, Ossof repeatedly raised Handel's tenure¹² as an official with the Susan G. Komen Foundation where she was part of efforts to end grants for Planned Parenthood - a big part, charged Ossof.

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OSSOF: And you led an effort to defund lifesaving breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood. And as has been reported, this cost to the Komen Foundation, tens of millions of dollars or more in lost revenues after you resigned amidst the scandal.

NAYLOR: But Handel played down her role.

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HANDEL: I was one of hundreds of employees at the Komen Foundation. Secondly¹³, I was tasked by the CEO and chairman of the board to develop options for how the organization could disengage from Planned Parenthood. Why? Because the grants were not effective.

NAYLOR: There's another debate scheduled this week, and more dollars are coming into the campaign from Republicans eager to hold onto a seat they've held for decades and Democrats who see a chance not only to send a message to Trump but to lay the groundwork for a possible takeover of the House in 2018. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Atlanta.