GOP voters ready for Georgia runoffs
Belief in fraud doesn’t limit plans to take part
ATLANTA — Many Republican voters in Georgia are angry. They’re convinced that widespread voter fraud 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.
“Everyone that I’m around, we’re ready to vote now,” said the 57-yearold 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.
Interviews with voters and party activists in the state suggest there’s little sign that Trump’s voters are planning to stay home in 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.
Phillips was among 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.