The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
POTENTIAL 2024 HOPEFULS VISIT STATE
Pence expected to fly in, while 2024 hopefuls seize early opportunity.
Senate runoffs are drawing high- profile Republicans,
PERRY — With the U. S. Senate on the line, Georgia’s double- header runoffs are fast becoming a proving ground for Republicans seen as potential 2024 presidential candidates.
Even as votes are still being counted in Georgia, U. S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida both have stumped at “Save Our Majorit y” rallies i n metro Atlanta. And Thursday, U. S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas hosted a rally for incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
“We all wish these elections had been won on Nov. 3, but sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Cotton told a crowd of more than 100 Republicans at the Georgia National Fairgrounds.
“He’s given you the opportunity and the honor to hold the line and make sure that Republic ans remain in charge of the United States Senate. The eyes of the world are on Georgia. They’re waiting to see what happens on Jan. 5.”
The biggest name yet arrives Friday. Vice President Mike Pence will hold a pair of rallies in Gainesville and Cherokee County — two Republican strongholds. His advisers expect him to return several times before the Jan. 5 runoffs.
Pence won’t be the last prominent Republican to visit Georgia to bolster their network of donors, operatives and activists. Plenty of other possible White House hopefuls will use the Senate runoffs against Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to test their messages.
“This i s t he opening bell of 2024,” said Ralph Reed, a Georgia Republic an operative and head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative Christian group. “It’s the first round of American Idol. You show well
in the Georgia runoff, and you advance to the next round.”
And that’s not including the biggest name of them all: President Donald Trump, who has refused to acknowledge his defeat.
The president has mused openly about another run, and Georgia operatives expect him to stump in heavily conservative areas of
the state in the next few weeks, t hough some privately worry he will focus less on the Senate races than his unsubstantiated claim that the election was stolen from him.
‘ Last line of defense’
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, other big- name Republicans are
trying to shift the focus to the pivotal runoffs.
Senate Republicans launched a nat i onal c a mpaign headed by veteran strategist Karl Rove to oversee fundraising for the t win races, lining up high- profile figures from all 50 states for the effort. An array of potential contenders, i ncluding former U. N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, are involved.
“This is the last line of defense to conservative values,” Rove said on Fox News. “If we don’t have a Republican majority in the U. S. Senate, they’re going to have a clear path to this nutty agenda.”
At the events, the White House hopefuls aren’t t ypically maki ng t he c as e t hat Republic an l osse s would give Democrats complete control of Washington. That would acknowledge that President- elect Joe Biden defeated Trump, which many Republicans have refused to do.
Instead, they’ve warned of a tilt in the balance of power if Democrats flip the seats. Speaking to hundreds in Cobb County, Rubio didn’t once mention Trump’s name while playing up the importance of the vote.
“This is literally the showdown of all showdowns,” he added. “This i s Georgia’s decision to make. But it’s America that will live with the consequences.”
And Scott, the incoming chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said i n an interview that he believes Democrats will “change all the rules” to pack the U. S. Supreme Court and adopt new regulations, a claim echoed by many GOP campaigns.
“We’ve got to get our votes out. You can have the right message and lose,” he said. “So what we have to do here is make sure voters go to the polls. You want to get them in the bank.”
At the Perry event, Cotton taci t l y acknowledged t hat Biden won the election, warning of a “nightmare dystopian scenario” of Vice President- elect Kamala Harris serving as a tie- breaking vote in a 50- 50 Senate, should Ossoff and Warnock win.
“He’s leading right now, you’re i n t h e mi d d l e o f a r e c o u n t , there’s litigation in other states,” Cotton t old reporters, referring to Biden. “But we have to be prepared for that. We have t o be prepared f or Joe Biden winning.”
Democrats will have plent y of firepower, too. Party officials expect Harris and former President Barack Obama — who both stumped in Georgia in the final days of the campaign — to return to rally early voters.
A n d c a mpa i g n s t r a t e g i s t s say they’ll welcome Biden if he c hooses t o s t ump i n Georgia while setting up his administration. Judging by his recent comments in a private call to supporters, he could be considering that possibility.
“We’re going to run into some real brick walls initially in the Senate unless we’re able to turn around Georgia and pick up those t wo seats,” Biden said on t he call, “but even then i t’s going to be hard.”