Pence Raises the Stakes in Georgia: GOP Senate Majority Could Be 'The Last Line of Defense'
Back in Georgia to rally support for the state’s two Republican senators, Vice President Mike Pence told voters in Augusta on Thursday that returning the incumbents to Washington would secure a GOP Senate majority and help continue the work of the Trump administration.
“We need to send them back because the Republican majority could be the last line of defense to preserve all we’ve done to defend this nation, revive our economy and preserve the God-given liberties we hold dear,” Pence told several hundred at a rally ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections.
The runoffs — which became necessary when no candidate received a majority of the votes in November — have put Georgia squarely in the national political spotlight, as they will determine the balance of power in Washington at the outset of a likely Biden administration.
Both major parties and activist groups are pouring tens of millions of dollars into the state ahead of Jan. 5, when David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler will try to hold off Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively.
Republicans need one victory to maintain their Senate majority.
Democrats need a Georgia sweep to force a 50-50 Senate, with presumptive vice president-elect Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
At the rally at Augusta’s airport, Pence described Ossoff and Warnock as supporters of a socialist agenda who are “wrong for Georgia and wrong for America.”
“With the support of people all across this state, and with God’s help, we’re going to keep on winning,” Pence said. “We will win Georgia and save America.”
President Barack Obama headlined a recent virtual rally for Democrats.
Joe Biden, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since 1992, announced earlier Wednesday he would travel to Atlanta on Tuesday to campaign for Ossoff and Warnock.
Pence impressed upon voters his confidence in the security of the Jan. 5 vote. He has urged both early and absentee voting ahead of Jan. 5.
“I want you to be confident about your vote,” Pence said.
“We’re on them this time. We’re watching. We’re going to secure the polls. We’re going to secure the drop boxes, so get an absentee ballot and vote today, get it done.”
On Thursday, state GOP Chair David Shafer said “the fight for election integrity and the fight for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler go hand in hand,” saying the Republican Party would “have eyes on every part of the process” for the elections
Although she expressed belief that there had been some fraud in the presidential vote, businesswoman Lori Davis was planning to vote in the Senate elections, saying she didn’t agree with any argument for skipping the vote over security concerns.
“That’s just not Georgia to me,” Davis, 57, said. “David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are businessmen and women, and I love that.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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