A heated confrontation between two Republican candidates fighting for a U.S. Senate seat has gone viral.
Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel got within inches of each others faces during Friday’s debate organized by the conservative group FreedomWorks in Gahanna, Ohio.
The altercation started while Gibbons was addressing the audience as he walked across the stage with a microphone in his hand, while Mandel sat listening.
Mandel accused Gibbons of making “millions” from questionable investments in China, which Gibbons flatly rejected. “I don’t think I have made millions off of anything,” Gibbons said, adding, “I would love to have made millions.”
Gibbons then insinuated that Mandel knew nothing about how business worked because he had “never been in the private sector.”
Mandel stood up and faced him directly, jabbing a finger at his rival and saying: “I’ve worked! I’ve done two tours in Iraq! Don’t tell me I haven’t worked.”
Gibbons replied, “You don’t know squat!” as the debate moderator tried to separate the pair. Mandel briefly backed away before again approaching Gibbons and repeating how he had done tours in Iraq. Both candidates told each other to “back off” as they faced calls to sit down from those in the audience, some of whom were jeering.
Gibbons tried to get the last word in and was heard making a derogatory remark to Mandel before Mandel sat down, 13 ABC reported.
The other candidates, former Ohio Republican chair Jane Timken, the author J.D. Vance and Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan sat and watched during the altercation.
As of Saturday morning, a clip of the confrontation had nearly 530,000 views with the incident highlighting the intensity of the Republican primary race to replace Senator Rob Portman who is retiring.
Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel get in each other’s faces at tonight’s GOP #OHSen forum hosted by FreedomWorks.
“You watch what happens,” Mandel says. pic.twitter.com/fQuqfHxXHT
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 18, 2022
Polls show that Mandel, a former Ohio state treasurer and an early front-runner for the GOP nomination has recently been overtaken by Gibbons, an investment banker, who is 1.3 percentage points ahead, according to Real Clear Politics.
Samantha Cotten, a spokesperson for Gibbons’ campaign said in a statement that Mandel was “flailing because he’s losing,” The New York Post reported, adding that “he doesn’t have the temperament, experience or fortitude to be a U.S. Senator.”
Scott Guthrie, Mandel’s campaign manager, said in a statement to Fox News that Gibbons “got upset tonight that he was called out for his investments in Chinese oil.”
“While Ohioans are struggling to make ends meet in Joe Biden‘s America,” the statement said, “Mike Gibbons spent his entire career profiting by shipping jobs overseas and investing in places like China and Russia.”
The primary election in the Buckeye State will take place on May 3. Newsweek has contacted both campaigns for comment.
Andrew Spear/Getty Images
Video of Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel Clashing at GOP Debate Viewed 530K Times
Source: Gwapo Pinoys PH
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