U.S. Senate control, and Biden's agenda, at stake as Georgia runoff elections loom

By Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax

 

Supporters of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff cheer at an outdoor campaign event ahead of U.S. Senate runoff elections in Macon, Georgia, U.S., January 2, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

 

CUTHBERT, Ga. (Reuters) -Control of the U.S. Senate – and with it, the likely fate of President-elect Joe Biden's legislative agenda – will be on the ballot on Tuesday when voters in Georgia decide twin runoff elections.

 

The high-stakes campaign that has unfolded since Nov. 3, when Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the presidential election, has obliterated spending records and spurred unprecedented turnout. Political groups have flooded the southern state with a tsunami of television advertising.

 

Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, will visit on Monday, underscoring the political stakes of the contests.

 

If either or both Republican incumbent senators – David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler – win on Tuesday, their party would retain a narrow majority, effectively giving Senate Republicans the ability to block Biden's most ambitious goals. A Democratic sweep would produce a 50-50 split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris holding the tiebreaker that determines control.

 

Democrat Jon Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker, is challenging Perdue, while the Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at the historic Black church Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, will take on Loeffler.

 

Biden's narrow Georgia victory in November – the first in a generation for a Democratic presidential candidate – completed the state's shift from a Republican stronghold to a fiercely competitive battleground.

 

The Jan. 5 head-to-head runoffs were triggered when no candidate reached 50% in November. Polls suggest the contests are virtual dead heats.

 

Early voting has shattered runoff records, with 3 million ballots already cast.

 

"These are crazy numbers," said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor tracking the Georgia vote.

 

Black turnout, critical to the Democrats' chances, has been robust; about one-third of the ballots have come from self-identified Black voters, up from around 27% in November.

 

"Democrats need to see an electorate like this in order to be able to win the election," McDonald said. But he said it was impossible to predict the final outcome, cautioning that Republicans could turn out in higher numbers on Tuesday.

 

100,000 NEW VOTERS

Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, whose voter registration efforts helped deliver the state for Biden, told CNN on Sunday that early turnout includes 100,000 new voters who did not cast ballots in November.

 

"Those 100,000 are disproportionately comprised of people of color and young voters, who are both more likely to vote for Democrats," Abrams said.

 

Bobby Jenkins, the Democratic chair in rural Randolph County, said he felt good about his county's high early voting figures after an aggressive door-to-door push to get out the Black vote.

 

"It's going to hinge on how many Republicans turn out on Election Day," he said.

 

The races have drawn a staggering $490 million in ad spending, according to the tracking firm AdImpact. Biden's political team has directed at least $18 million to the Democratic effort, according to a person familiar with the matter, including staff, data support and fundraising.

 

If close, the results could remain unclear for days as ballots are counted, and legal challenges could prolong the process.

 

Biden's 12,000-vote victory took more than a week to confirm, and two recounts pushed the state's final certification into December.

 

Abrams said definitive results could take "at least a couple of days" because of the number of mail-in ballots.

 

Biden will rally alongside Ossoff and Warnock in Atlanta on Monday.

 

Trump, meanwhile, will visit heavily Republican Whitfield County in northwestern Georgia on Monday. His insistence contrary to evidence that his loss was due to fraud has some Republicans concerned that his most ardent supporters may stay home, convinced the vote is rigged.

 

Trump has demanded Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, resign after they refused to substantiate his fraud claims.

 

Loeffler and Perdue have struck an awkward balance, supporting Trump's accusations even as they warn that they represent a "firewall" against a Democratic takeover. They have portrayed their opponents as radical socialists.

 

Perdue's term ended on Sunday, leaving him sidelined on Jan. 6 when some congressional Republicans say they will attempt to block the certification of Biden's victory.

 

"The technical problem is that I won't be certified until this election is certified, some week to 10 days after the election," Perdue said on Fox News on Sunday. "I'm encouraging my colleagues to object."

 

Ossoff on CNN tried to undermine the Republican "firewall" message on Sunday, accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of "snubbing and disrespecting" Trump by refusing to hold a vote on $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks sought by the president and by overriding his veto of a defense bill.

 

Perdue has been absent from the campaign's closing days after being exposed to someone infected with the coronavirus. The Republicans have planned an election night party in Atlanta, while the Democrats have eschewed an in-person event due to the pandemic.

 

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Cuthbert, Georgia, and Joseph Ax in Princeton, New Jersey; Additional reporting by Jason Lange and David Morgan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-04

 

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I hope the dems pull it off,Mitch McConnell needs to be the minority leader he’s responsible for much of the gridlock in Washington imo and the Biden administration will face enough challenges without Mitch blocking everything 

2 hours ago, Tug said:

I hope the dems pull it off,Mitch McConnell needs to be the minority leader he’s responsible for much of the gridlock in Washington imo and the Biden administration will face enough challenges without Mitch blocking everything 

I'm not a dem, but sure hope they win to kick out McConnell.  The GOP is massively corrupt.  Can you imagine what would be happening now if they controlled the house?  Terrible.

 

An interesting article to read:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/cowards-are-destroying-the-gop/617534/
 

Quote

 

The Unbearable Weakness of Trump’s Minions

 

Senator Josh Hawley isn’t just engaging in civic vandalism—he is an emblem of a weak and rotten Republican Party.

 

 

I want to see the dems take the senate, and add at least 6 more justices to the supreme court. Load em up. Neutralize the toxic conservatism. And pass some legislation. Otherwise, Mitch will spend the next few years blocking everything, like they did with Obama. And nothing gets done. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump has demanded Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, resign after they refused to substantiate his fraud claims.

Oh, he's done much more than that as the other Georgia story circulating shows.

 

He's told Raffensperger he should "find" the votes he needs.

 

Lock him up.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55524838

Stacey Abrams has been doing great work registering voters who are likely to vote Democrat, fingers crossed she’s done enough.

It's simple. Mitch McConnell blocked my extra $1400 Covid cash payment. I want Mitch gone as Leader of the Senate. So I want the two Democrats to win and replace McConnell and then get my $1400. This is a vote against McConnell more than anything else. He symbolizes everything wrong with American politics for the past 30 years.

Trump is taking out Mitch as payback for not going along with the swip. Never thought Mitch would ever leave. First time for me to thank trump Good bye and good riddance. 

9 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I'm not a dem, but sure hope they win to kick out McConnell.  The GOP is massively corrupt.  Can you imagine what would be happening now if they controlled the house?  Terrible.

 

An interesting article to read:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/cowards-are-destroying-the-gop/617534/
 

 

Leveling accusations of corruption at the Republicans given the Democrat's track record is a bit odd.

15 hours ago, webfact said:

Early voting has shattered runoff records, with 3 million ballots already cast.

 

"These are crazy numbers," said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor tracking the Georgia vote.

 

Black turnout, critical to the Democrats' chances, has been robust; about one-third of the ballots have come from self-identified Black voters, up from around 27% in November.

 

"Democrats need to see an electorate like this in order to be able to win the election," McDonald said. But he said it was impossible to predict the final outcome, cautioning that Republicans could turn out in higher numbers on Tuesday.

 

100,000 NEW VOTERS

Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, whose voter registration efforts helped deliver the state for Biden, told CNN on Sunday that early turnout includes 100,000 new voters who did not cast ballots in November.

 

"Those 100,000 are disproportionately comprised of people of color and young voters, who are both more likely to vote for Democrats," Abrams said.

 

Bobby Jenkins, the Democratic chair in rural Randolph County, said he felt good about his county's high early voting figures after an aggressive door-to-door push to get out the Black vote.

 

"It's going to hinge on how many Republicans turn out on Election Day," he said.

 

 

100,000 new voters and record early voting in a state that is currently going from red to purple to blue....bad news for the GOP.

 

"Perdue has been absent from the campaign's closing days after being exposed to someone infected with the coronavirus. The Republicans have planned an election night party in Atlanta, while the Democrats have eschewed an in-person event due to the pandemic."

 

And how appropriate and telling is this.....Perdue, who is so corrupt he wouldn't even show up for a debate because he didn't want to incriminate himself and who is currently in quarantine, plus the Georgia GOP, still want to throw a super spreader the night of the run off....because that is what is truly important.....getting the virus out to the people.

47 minutes ago, Nout said:

Leveling accusations of corruption at the Republicans given the Democrat's track record is a bit odd.

Prey tell, the record you refer too? 

Troll posts and replies removed.

 

Waiting for the Dems to take the two senate seats... so the Republicans have another reason to cry fraud and spin conspiracy theories. Pathetic pack of corrupt wannabe totalitarians. Hopefully the Dems win this and Biden uses the three majorities wisely, ie. by packing the court and trying to fix the broken system. 

10 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Oh, he's done much more than that as the other Georgia story circulating shows.

 

He's told Raffensperger he should "find" the votes he needs.

 

Lock him up.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55524838

 

No question about it. He does not even pretend to want to take the honorable path. It is not in his DNA. Trump is a man of deceit, foul play, a traitor to his nation, and a man so lacking in compassion, character, allegiance, loyalty, kindness, generosity, fidelity, heart and soul. He is morally bankrupt. His ex associates know that. The thousands of small contractors who have sued him for money owed know that. There is no doubt that Trump is the opposite of a patriot, there is no doubt that Trump is a coward and a traitor, who will sell out his nation to despotic dictators, and who will deny aid to faithful allies. Thankfully we have just two more weeks left of his nonsense, his crimes, his deceit, and his extreme lack of honor, and the kind of code real men follow in this life.

 

And then he will be in gloriously ushered out of Washington to a life of humiliation, a completely radioactive name that nobody in their right mind is ever going to want to touch, potential legal peril, and a crumbling mini empire. That is just what he deserves, that is what he's worked hard for and that is something that the world will celebrate. There is no grace in his game.

10 hours ago, Nout said:

Leveling accusations of corruption at the Republicans given the Democrat's track record is a bit odd.

Both parties are corrupt.  But only the Republicans are currently seditious.  Prove I'm wrong.