Next in the frenzied rush is President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday to elect Senators David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler and protect party control of the room. Then on Sunday, Loeffler and Warnock will participate in a debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.
The focus on Georgia comes as the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping the state. It reported the highest number of cases in a single day on Friday – 5023 – and saw the soccer match between Georgia and Vanderbilt partially postponed due to Covid-19.
The president’s steadfast refusal to concede has alarmed Republicans bent on preventing Democratic control of the Senate. A group of prominent Georgia Republicans, including former Governor Nathan Dell, former Senator Johnny Isaacson and Saxby Chambliss, issued a statement this week urging the party to unite and turn its attention to the election of Loeffler and Perdue.
Republican National Committee Chair Rona McDaniel on Saturday dismissed concerns that Trump’s messages about the integrity of the election might discourage Georgia’s Republicans from voting on January 5.
“I think the voters support the president very much. I think they care about the state and how they manage the elections,” she told Fox News, adding, “However, they want to make sure that we keep David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler at the same time, and they can strike a balance between them.”
There is little evidence that Trump will stop his ongoing attacks on the democratic process and the state officials in charge of elections.
The president also asked in a recent phone call why Loeffler, who ran in a special election of 20 people, did not get the majority of votes on Election Day against Warnock, who got so many votes.
Pence said on Friday that Republicans should elect Purdue and Loeffler to defend the Trump administration’s achievements over the past four years.
“We need to bring them back because the Republican majority in the Senate can be the last line of defense to preserve everything we did to defend this nation, revive our economy, and preserve the freedoms God-given and cherished,” Pence said. Savannah.
While Biden narrowly won in Georgia – the first time a Democratic candidate for president since Bill Clinton in 1992 – Republicans enjoy a number of advantages in both races. The country hasn’t sent a democracy to the Senate in 20 years. Last month, Purdue received tens of thousands of more votes than USF. Republicans spend about $ 38 million more on advertising than Democrats, according to Kantar Media / CMAG data.
“The special elections in Georgia will, in the end, determine the course of Biden’s presidency,” Obama said in a hypothetical event on Friday.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Caitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond, Jason Hoffman and Liz Torrell of CNN contributed to this report.