President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Georgia next week for Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) ahead of the crucial U.S. Senate runoffs set to determine control of the upper chamber.
At a Dec. 5 rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump called the runoffs, which pit Perdue and Loeffler against Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, “the most important congressional runoff, probably in American history.”
The Jan. 5 runoffs are key for both parties, with control of the upper chamber hanging in the balance. Republicans currently hold 50 seats in the Senate, meaning if Democrats win both runoffs and prevail in the contested presidential election, the party would gain control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
“At stake in this election is control of the U.S. Senate and that really means control of this country,” Trump said at the Dec. 5 rally. “The voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar.
“Very simply, you will decide whether your children will grow up in a socialist country or whether they will grow up in a free country. And I will tell you this, socialist is just the beginning for these people. These people want to go further than socialism. They want to go into a communistic form of government. I have no doubt about it.”
Republican voter George Peterson told The Associated Press that he and his wife plan to back the GOP incumbents.
“We would like to see a balance of power between the three branches, and we are not completely comfortable with the agenda of the left wing,” Peterson said. “We’re that mythical middle you’re looking for,” adding that the Democratic Party would need to make “dramatic” changes on issues for him to consider supporting its candidates.
Through Dec. 25, over 2 million people in Georgia had already cast early ballots for the runoffs, according to the U.S. Elections Project, with early-voting figures pointing to a potentially record turnout.
