President goes down to Georgia for rally

GOP senators in runoff get support from the top

VALDOSTA, Georgia — President Donald Trump held a rally in Georgia Saturday urging supporters to back a pair of Republican Senate candidates in a runoff election in January while also asserting his grievances over last month’s presidential election results.

Trump’s 100-minute rally before thousands of largely maskless supporters came after he was rebuffed by Georgia’s Republican governor in his astounding call for a special legislative session to give him the state’s electoral votes, even though President-elect Joe Biden won the majority of the vote.

The Jan. 5 Senate runoffs in Georgia will determine the balance of power in Washington after Biden takes office. Republicans in the state are worried that Trump is stoking so much suspicion about Georgia elections that voters will think the system is rigged and decide to sit out the two races.

Attorney General William Barr contradicted that claim last week, saying the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud. Multiple court challenges also have not been successful.

Republicans need one victory to maintain their Senate majority. Democrats need a Georgia sweep to force a 50-50 Senate and position

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking vote. Party officials had hoped the president would dedicate his energy to imploring supporters to vote in the runoff, when Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler try to hold off Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively.

Trump did echo Republican rhetoric that the races amounted to “the most important congressional runoff, probably in American history.”

He praised the GOP lawmakers — Perdue for his support for military spending and Loeffler for pushing for early coronavirus relief spending.

Chants of “Fight for Trump” drowned out the two senators as they briefly spoke to the crowd.

Hours before the event, Trump asked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a phone call to order the legislative session; the governor refused, according to a senior government official in Georgia with knowledge of the call who was not authorized to discuss the private conversation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. A person close to the White House who was briefed on the matter verified that account of the call.

Kemp, in a tweet, said Trump also asked him to order an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in his state, a step Kemp is not empowered to take because he has no authority to interfere in the electoral process on Trump’s behalf.

Ben Gray The Associated Press President Donald Trump addresses the crowd Saturday at a rally in Valdosta, Ga., for U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and David Perdue, R-Ga., both of whom are facing a runoff election that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.

Evan Vucci The Associated Press President Donald Trump greets first lady Melania Trump after she introduced him Saturday at a campaign rally for Senate Republican candidates in Valdosta, Ga.