Biden team kicks in $18M boost to Ga. challengers

ATLANTA — President-elect Joe Biden is going all-in to help Democrats win two Senate runoffs in Georgia that will determine party control in the critical early years of his administration.

The push ahead of Tuesday’s election comes with early voting turnout making some Republicans nervous.

Biden and his team have steered at least $18 million to help Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock try to unseat Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Biden’s campaign manager and incoming White House deputy chief of staff, Jen O’Malley Dillon, confirmed the figures Saturday ahead of upcoming visits to the state by both Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The money includes about $6 million in staff and voter data support and $12 million in fundraising for the two campaigns.

The president-elect and Harris also have recorded robocalls to blanket the state ahead of Tuesday. The pair has planned media interviews in markets across Georgia, including morning and late-afternoon “drivetime” radio on Election Day.

The effort reflects the high stakes, with Democrats needing a sweep to tilt the Senate in their favor, while Republicans need just one seat to keep their majority and force Biden to contend with divided government.

Biden will be in Atlanta on Monday, the same day that President Donald Trump heads to the north Georgia town of Dalton for an election-eve rally. Vice President Mike Pence also will be in Georgia on Monday. Harris will be in Savannah on Sunday.