GOP voters ready for Georgia runoffs amid Trump’s claims
ATLANTA — Many Republican voters in Georgia are angry. They ’ re convinced that widespread voter fraud — claims that are baseless — cost President Donald Trump the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
But will those concerns put them on the sidelines for runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine party control of the U.S. Senate?
No way, said Trump supporter Lori Davis.
“Ever yo ne t ha t I ’ m around, we’re ready to vote now,” said the 57-year-old businesswoman, as she awaited the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence at a rally for GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in Augusta on Thursday.
Trump has relentlessly promoted false claims that the election was rigged against him, and he has savaged Republican elected officials he perceives as standing in the way of his quest to subvert the results. Some Trump allies have gone as far as calling for voters to skip the Georgia runoffs altogether — alarming words for the GOP campaigns banking on a strong turnout.
But i nterviews with voters and party activists in the state suggest there’s little sign that Trump’s voters are planning to stay home i n protest. Most Republican voters interviewed said they were prepared to put their skepticism aside to vote for Perdue and Loeffler in their races against Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively.
“There are people who are discouraged about (Trump) losing Georgia or being behind. But I haven’t talked to people who’ve said, ‘Oh, the heck with this, it’s all rigged anyway,’ ”said Tim Phillips, president of the conservative group
Americans for Prosperity, which has done canvassing of GOP-leaning voters.
Phil l i ps was a mong those who worried that the distrust could affect Republican enthusiasm. But he said his group’s weeks in the field, combined with a recent visit from Trump, have eased his worries.
Trump’s Dec. 5 campaign stop in Valdosta, Georgia, was his first since he lost the state to Biden by about 11,700 votes — a result that was confirmed by two recounts, including a hand tally of all ballots.
But those recounts haven’t stopped the president from blasting Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Kemp ha s r e b u f f e d Trump’s call for a special session of the legislature to subvert the election results, while Raffensperger has repeatedly said there is no evidence of systemic fraud or irregularities in the November election.
Trump’s a l l i e s have continued to push false claims of fraud.
Sidney Powell, who was removed from Trump’s legal team last month, has teamed up with Georgia attorney Lin Wood, known for his representation of several high-profile clients, particularly in defamation cases. The lawyers have encouraged Georgia Republicans not to vote in the runoff election and questioned whether Perdue and Loeffler have sufficiently backed Trump’s efforts.
“Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election?” Wood said during a recent rally in a suburb north of Atlanta.
Trump has asked his supporters to get out and vote. The “seats are the last line of defense to save America and protect all that we’ve accomplished,” he said at the recent Georgia event. During the rally, Trump weaved back and forth between pressing his own grievances about the election and encouraging the crowd to turn out for Perdue and Loeffler.
“You know a lot of people, friends of mine, say ‘Let’s not vote. We’re not going to vote because we’re angry about t he presidential election,’ ” Trump told the crowd.
“But if you do that, the radical left wins,” he said.