COLUMBUS, Ohio — Things got heated during a forum featuring the GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate in Ohio on Friday evening in Gahanna.
The forum was hosted by FreedomWorks on Facebook Live and featured Republican candidates Josh Mandel, J.D. Vance, Matt Dolan, Jane Timken, and Mike Gibbons answering questions on a range of topics including business deals and voter registration.
A face-to-face clash between Gibbons and Mandel began after Gibbons accused the former Ohio Treasurer of "never having worked in the private sector." Mandel got up from his seat and yelled, "Two tours in Iraq, don't tell me I haven't worked!"
Gibbons responded, "You don't know squat," which prompted Mandel to move closer to the Cleveland-based businessman.
Gibbons then told Mandel to "back off."
"You back off," Mandel shouted back, adding to Gibbons that he's "dealing with the wrong guy."
The two had to be separated by the forum's moderator.
“Josh Mandel is unhinged, unfit and flailing - because he's losing. He is only a professional at one thing: running for office. He is hellbent on lying because he is failing. He doesn't have the temperament, experience, or fortitude to be a U.S. Senator and Ohio voters got a first hand look at just how unprepared Josh Mandel has become and that will be reflected on the ballot on May 3,” Gibbons' spokesperson Samantha Cotten wrote in a statement.
Mandel's campaign has yet to release a statement on the incident.
You can watch the forum in the player below. The confrontation occurs around the 49 minute mark of the video.
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