WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The decision to open several non-essential businesses in Georgia on Friday has the state split – especially among its 2020 Senate candidates.
“It is rolling the dice with human lives of our fellow Georgians for the governor to prematurely reopen,” Democratic Senate candidate Sarah Riggs Amico said.
Riggs Amico says Georgia isn’t meeting the federal guidelines for having 14 consecutive days of declining cases.
Teresa Tomlinson – another Democratic Senate candidate – says because businesses that choose to open up won’t be eligible for the federal aid, they’ll be more at risk economically than if they just stayed closed.
“I don’t know that we thought this through very carefully,” Tomlinson said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted Thursday night saying he has the data to open shuttered businesses for limited operations.
But Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff says because of limited testing, the data isn’t reliable.
“It’s risky to reopen the economy when we don’t know the scope and the nature of the spread of the disease here in Georgia,” Ossoff said.
All three are running against incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue. His office told us Friday in a statement:
“As a member of the president’s task force, the senator is focused on helping all Georgians and Americans get through this crisis.”
Perdue did not comment on the specifics of Gov. Kemp’s plan to reopen the economy.