Warnock, Loeffler locked in tight Georgia Senate race
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy joins 'Special Report' with the latest from the Peach State.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock appear to have an excellent chance of being elected from once-reliably Republican Georgia on Tuesday, following President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state in November.
Georgia is now on the mind of every American concerned about the fate of American government and politics because Tuesday’s election result will determine which political party will control the U.S. Senate for at least the next two years.
If Ossoff defeats Republican Sen. David Perdue and Warnock defeats GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, there will be 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate. Once Sen. Kamala Harris is inaugurated as vice president Jan. 20, she will be able to cast the tie-breaking vote to give Democrats a razor-thin majority in the chamber.
BIDEN TO CAMPAIGN IN GEORGIA ON SAME DAY AS TRUMP AHEAD OF PIVOTAL SENATE ELECTIONS
Whether you are a supporter of President Trump and his outgoing agenda or a passionate progressive seeking deep-seated change in Washington, all political storylines will come down to the two Georgia Senate runoff races.
A Democratic Senate majority, combined with the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, will work with Biden after he becomes president to undo the damage caused by four years of President Trump’s incompetent rule.
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With control of both houses of Congress and the White House, Democrats will be able to move America forward to end the coronavirus pandemic, restore our economic health, create good jobs, bring fairness to our tax system, protect the environment, combat systemic racism, improve educational opportunities for all our children, and work in many other ways for the interests of the American people rather than for the interests of Trump and his rich and the powerful allies.
Unfortunately, if Republican win even one of the Senate races in Georgia, the GOP will retain control of the Senate and be able to obstruct Biden’s initiatives at every turn, frustrating the will of the American people who gave Biden a landslide victory in November in both the Electoral College and the popular vote (despite Trump’s baseless lies about voter fraud)
The two Georgia Senate races shouldn't be competitive. For decades, the Republican Party has enjoyed a voter registration advantage in the state that has resulted in comfortable wins, clear sweeps, and across-the-board conservative control of the Peach State.
However, the tide seems to be changing in Georgia, in part due to its population growth and the leadership of Black women.
Whether through Nsé Ufot’s New Georgia Project or Fair Fight — led by unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams — Black women’s belief in the impossible has not only made Georgia competitive, but created the possibility of it becoming America's newest blue state.
For several months, through overwhelming organizing efforts, Abrams, Ufot, and other Black women leaders — including LaTosha Brown, Errin Haines and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — have harnessed the power of Atlanta, its surrounding counties, and several midsize cities to create a winning coalition for Democrats and the progressive movement.
In November these Black women and their impressive coalition — Black, Brown, college-educated Whites, disaffected Republicans, and Asian and Pacific Islander American voters —played a crucial role in flipping Georgia for President-elect Biden. They also put Sens. Perdue and Loeffler into extremely competitive runoffs.
While the GOP has long enjoyed comfortable margins in Georgia elections, all of that seems to be coming to an end. The remarkable turnout among Democrats in November and in early voting for the Senate runoff elections can be attributed to decades of organizing in Democratic strongholds and Trump's failed leadership and willingness to peddle false stories about Georgia voter fraud.
These colliding storylines will dictate the outcome of Georgia's two monumental runoffs.
If you study the dynamics of race, you will also see that Ossoff and Warnock are poised to win because of overwhelming Black voter turnout. Black voters have enormous disdain for Trump, his racism, and his deadly mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic devastation it has caused.
Black voters and the other members of the newly emerging Georgia majority are interested in something new and different. They are looking for elected leaders who are willing to stand with them and their families, not politicians who make stock trades and profits based on their knowledge of an ever-spreading pandemic.
Instead of listening to Georgia voters, Perdue and Loeffler have become standard-bearers of a failed and tarnished GOP brand devoted to loyally following Trump, no matter how harmful his policies and how absurd his lies.
Perdue and Loeffler have joined Trump in slinging mud balls of misinformation and have sat idly by as Trump and his allies have tarred and feathered Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp — both Republicans— along with other state and local election officials around the country, as Trump tries to overturn our democracy with his false and dangerous claims that he was reelected.
Much of the GOP’s mudslinging against Ossoff and Warnock has been based on outright lies, bad video editing and half-truths.
No, Ossoff isn't socialist. He just believes that capitalism should be fair and equitable for all.
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And yes, as a cherished member of the clergy, Warnock gave a sermon based on Matthew 6:24 about serving two masters. That doesn't take away from his love of our country and actively serving military personnel.
Republicans have worked overtime to demonize Ossoff and Warnock by falsely portraying them as wild-eyed radicals who will destroy America as we know it. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Trump is slated to visit Georgia on Monday to campaign for Perdue and Loeffler — and most likely devote most of his remarks to falsely claiming he won the presidential election and boasting about what an incredibly great and successful president he has been.
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But just as a majority of Georgia voters wisely concluded that Trump is unfit to be president, they will hopefully conclude Perdue and Loeffler need to be replaced by Ossoff and Warnock — two talented candidates who will fight for the people of the state and nation to build a better future for us all.
It is in our national interest for Ossoff and Warnock to enter the Senate and put an end to the Republican majority that has put the interests of Donald Trump and the wealthiest among us ahead of the interests of the American people. Georgia needs them in the Senate and so does America.