Pence, Biden warn of high stakes in Georgia
President-elect MILNER,GA.—
Joe Biden thanked voters on Monday for making him the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in three decades and urged his supporters to show up one more time for Senate runoffs that will determine the balance of power on Capitol Hill and the reach of his administration.
“Folks, this is it. This is it. It’s anewyear, and tomorrow can be a newday for Atlanta, forGeorgia and forAmerica,” Biden said at a drive-in rally in Atlanta. “Unlike any time inmy career, one state — one state — can chart the course, not just for the four years but for the next generation.”
The president-elect, campaigning with Democrats Jon Ossoff and RaphaelWarnock, was one of a number of political leaders who descended on Georgia on Monday for an eleven thturnout push. Vice President Mike Pence campaigned at a Georgia mega church earlier in the day, while President DonaldTrumpwas due to hold a nighttime rally in north Georgia.
Trump, who has refused to concede his defeat to Biden, has sought to galvanize Republicansaround his efforts to subvert the will of the voters and keep himself in power for a second term. Biden joked on Monday that he had won Georgia“three times” because of two statewide recounts, and he alluded to Trump’ s maneuvering by declaring that“politicians cannot assert, take or seizepower” by undermining legitimate elections.
Biden said he needs a Senate majority to pass legislation to combat the coronavirus, and he blasted Republicans David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler as obstructionist Trump sycophants.
“You have two senators who think they’ve sworn an oath to Donald Trump, not the United States Constitution,” Biden said.
Earlier Monday, Pence warned a crowd of conservative Christian voters that the runoffs are “the last line of defense” against a Democratictake over in Washington. “We’re going tokeepGeorgia, andwe’re going to save America,” Pen ce said at Rock Springs Church in Milner.
Per due, who is seeking a secondterm as senator, addressed the church crowd by telephone while quarantining over corona virus exposure, claiming that “the very future of our republic is on the line” and declaring the duty to vote “a calling fromGod.”
Republicans need just one victory to maintain Senate control and force Bid en to con tend with divided government. Democrats need a sweep for a 50-50 split, giving the tie breaking vote to Vice President-electK am ala Harris, who will succeedPence as the Senate’s presiding officer. That would give Democrats a Senate majority to go along with their controlof theHouseand
executive branch.
The stakes have drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign spending to a once solid ly Republican state that now finds itself as the nation’ s premier battle ground. Biden won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast in November, though Trump continues pushing false assertions of widespread fraud that evenhisnow-former attorney general and Georgia’ s Republican secretary of state—along with a litany of state and federal judges — have said did not happen.
The president’ s trip Monday comes a day after disclosure of a telephone call hemadeto theGeorgia secretary of state over the weekend. Trump pressured Republican Brad Raf fens per ger to“enough votes to over turn Georgia’ selection results ahead ofWednesday’s joint session of Congress that will certify Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Pence, who will preside over Wednesday’s congressional joint session, sidestepped Trump’s denialsMonday until amanyelled out that hemust “do the right thing on Jan. 6.”