Ossoff, Handel blocking media outlets on eve of election
Both candidates in the Georgia 6th District special election runoff — Jon Ossoff (D) and Karen Handel (R) — have allegedly barred certain news outlets from attending their campaign events on the eve of the election, according to the reporters’ accounts.
Brent Scher of the Free Beacon tweeted Monday that he was blocked from attending Ossoff’s event.
The @FreeBeacon has been told that it is not welcome at tonight’s @ossoff event pic.twitter.com/lzXfForIGG
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) June 20, 2017
I was escorted out of an @Ossoff event tonight. The event was about a 6.5 hour walk north from @Ossoff‘s home.https://t.co/jcXQ2O9SxI
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) June 20, 2017
Scher wrote critically about the access he received while attending an Ossoff event last week, pointing to an incident in which a body man blocked him from following the candidate as well as being reprimanded by the campaign for taking a photo of a campaign document.
{mosads}Scher wrote that “other reporters have been too distracted by Ossoff’s ‘Kennedy-ish features’ and ‘Obama-like manner of speaking’ to bother with focusing on the vacuous message his campaign is delivering to voters.”
“They have managed to miss issues such as how he fabricated his national security credentials, made up a bogus plan to cut government waste, flip-flopped on Israel, and received nearly 97 percent of contributions from donors outside of the state,” the Free Beacon reporter continued.
According to the Ossoff campaign, Scher has attended multiple Ossoff events and, at the last one, he was intimidating volunteers and taking photos of campaign documents. A Democrat involved in the race who was also at that event backed up the campaign’s account of events.
Ossoff’s campaign told The Hill that Scher was invited to attend the campaign’s election night party on Tuesday night.
ThinkProgress reporter Kira Lerner claimed Handel’s campaign blocked her, and only her, from attending the Republican candidate’s campaign events after asking Handel a question about the “unpopular” healthcare bill earlier Monday.
Lerner also wrote an article Monday titled, “Karen Handel doesn’t want to talk about health care.”
My day in summary:
Asked @karenhandel about unpopular health care bill.
Got blocked from Handel campaign events https://t.co/0Zi7onNXFb
— Kira Lerner (@kira_lerner) June 19, 2017
Update: Handel campaign blocked @thinkprogress from her final event of the day. Tell kate@karenhandel.com how you feel about that decision!
— Kira Lerner (@kira_lerner) June 19, 2017
I was the only reporter blocked from Handel campaign event tonight
— Kira Lerner (@kira_lerner) June 20, 2017
The Handel campaign said Lerner attended events with them all day Monday at which she was able to ask questions.
It is expected to be a nail-biting race between the two candidates.
2024 Election Coverage
The polls for the special election runoff will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
-Updated: 12:21 p.m.
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