MILTON, Ga. — Georgia Republican Senate candidate David Perdue says he is disappointed that his opponent, Michelle Nunn, will not condemn her state party’s racially-tinged fliers against the GOP.
In a brief interview with The Daily Caller, Perdue said: “I just think we’re past this. I mean, this is divisive. It’s inflammatory. It’s totally unnecessary.”
“I’m very disappointed that my opponent, Michelle Nunn, has not denounced it,” Perdue said after a campaign rally north of Atlanta. “She’s been asked two or three times and she just refuses to do that. And I think that sends a strong message about her mentality. They’ll do anything to win. And I just think it’s very disappointing.”
Two particular fliers paid for by the state Democratic Party targeting black voters have surfaced in recent days: one references the events in Ferguson where a white cop shot and killed a black man. Showing a photo of two children holding “Don’t Shoot” signs, the flier says: “If you want to prevent another Ferguson in their future…vote. It’s up to you to make change happen.”
Another flier tells black voters: “It’s up to us to vote to protect President Obama and his legacy as the first African-American president…His name isn’t on the ballot. But his presidency is on the line.”
“Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to make President Obama fail,” the flier adds.
Nunn was asked by NBC News on Tuesday about the Ferguson flier. “I think it is something that merits a conversation by Georgia voters,” she said.
The fliers have surfaced as the race has tightened. Republicans likely need to hold on to Georgia in order to win back control of the Senate.
During a rally outside the Olde Blind Dog pub on Tuesday evening, Perdue and his supporters touted a new Survey USA poll showing him leading Nunn 48 percent to 45 percent. It was the fifth rally of the day for Perdue, who is touring the state in an RV over the last week of the campaign.
“The great news is [we’re] only two points away from winning without a run-off,” Georgia Rep. Tom Graves, who was stumping with Perdue Tuesday, told the crowd of supporters. “That is amazing.”
If neither candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote next week, a run-off will be held in January.
During a stump speech in front of a massive American flag, Perdue repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama while simultaneously linking the unpopular president to Nunn.
“We have never been at greater risk in my opinion — even during the Cold War — than we are right now,” Perdue said. “Because this president is sending the wrong signals around the world. Our foreign policy is in shambles, we have Ebola, we have ISIS threatening our borders, we won’t even secure our own border, and yet he sits there and talks about his golf game.”
“President Obama wants Michelle Nunn in the Senate to fight for him,” Perdue said. “I want to go to the Senate to fight for you.”