Georgia GOP Will ‘Have Eyes on Every Part’ of Runoffs: Chair

Left: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock speaks during an Election Night Event in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 3, 2020. Right: U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) speaks to the crowd of supporters during a "Defend the Majority" rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agriculture Center in Perry, Ga., on Nov. 19, 2020. Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

The Republican chairman in Georgia says they will “have eyes on every part” of the dual run-off elections that on Jan. 5 will settle which party holds sway in the United States Senate.

“I want to promise you that we are trusting no one and taking nothing for granted,” David Shafer told an election rally yesterday in Augusta. “We have recruited 4,000 poll watchers for the upcoming runoff elections. We filed suit against our own secretary of state.”

Incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) is facing Democrat challenger Jon Ossoff, a filmmaker. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is facing Democratic party candidate Raphael Warnock.

The double-run-off races have been overshadowed by claims of election irregularities in the battleground state—which is one of four states named in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas in the Supreme Court.

Echoing comments by the leadership of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, Shafer sought to dispel people’s potential reluctance to vote in what they might believe to be a compromised system.

“The fight for election integrity and the fight for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler go hand in hand,“ he said. ”It’s not one in front of the other, it’s not one or the other, it’s both of them, now.” Shafer said.

Like many other politicians on both sides, Shafer said that the Georgia election was the most important in a lifetime.

Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) in file photographs. Getty Images

With the numbers currently 50–48 in their favor, if the Republicans win one of the two seats, they will maintain control of the Senate.

If Democrats win both seats, the balance of power would be decided by the vice president, who would cast the chamber’s tie-breaker vote.

Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, declared on Dec. 8 that he had again recertified the election in favor of Joe Biden following two recounts.

According to official results from the state’s website, of almost 5 million votes cast in Georgia, Biden received 12,670 more than Trump.

A risk-limiting audit—or hand recount—turned up thousands of uncounted votes in four counties, prompting officials to issue recertifications. Trump’s vote share increased by 888 in that recount.

The numbers did not change in the subsequent recount, which was requested by the Trump campaign given Biden’s less than 0.5 percent lead. That recount, however, did not include a signature audit that the campaign has insisted is essential for a meaningful recount.

Raffensperger’s office has repeatedly stated that there has been full transparency in the election process.

The Trump campaign has called for a more complete audit of Georgia’s votes, saying that without signature matching, any recount would include the same allegedly fraudulent mail-in ballots, rendering it meaningless. Several Republican state senators have also called for an audit of signatures for absentee ballots in the state.