During Tuesday night’s debate for an open U.S. House seat in Georgia, Republican candidate Karen Handel said that she does not support a “livable wage.”
“This is an example of the fundamental difference between a liberal and a conservative: I do not support a livable wage,” she said on Atlanta’s WSB-TV in response to a viewer question about raising the minimum wage. “What I support is making sure that we have an economy that is robust with low taxes and less regulation.”
Handel said that raising the minimum wage could “dramatically” hurt small businesses.
Handel’s opponent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, said that “the minimum wage should be a living wage.” He noted that he supports raising the minimum wage gradually so that businesses can slowly adapt to the increase.
Ossoff’s campaign highlighted Handel’s remark about not supporting a “livable wage,” which quickly went viral, on Twitter after the debate:
"Someone working full time should earn a decent standard of living." – Jon Ossoff pic.twitter.com/hf1yO7YfLX
— Team Ossoff (@TeamOssoff) June 7, 2017
Watch below:
This post has been updated.