Senate candidates, GOP chairwoman hit the campaign trail ahead of runoff
ATLANTA - With a little more than a month to go until the Jan. 5 Senate runoff, both sides are trying to shore up as many votes as possible.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Congressman Doug Collins appeared to bury the hatchet after a bitter rivalry, hosting an event together at a gun range in Jasper, Collin’s home district.
“I’m very proud of the campaign we run,” Collins said. “But it was also time after we came in third, it was time for Kelly Loeffler to get in this runoff and we want to see Kelly win this race because we want to see that seat to stay Republican.”
Meanwhile, Loeffler’s Democrat opponent Rev. Raphael Warnock was at the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church at a community outreach event. According to the campaign, volunteers offered Covid-19 testing, flu shots, vouchers, face masks, sanitizer, haircuts, and other services to Atlanta’s most vulnerable community members.
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(Jason Armond and Kent Nishimura/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“They’re things that people need,” Warnock said. “But then tomorrow, we have to ask the tough questions about why so many people are hungry and why so many people have their needs unaddressed.
In the other Senate Race, challenger Jon Ossoff and incumbent Sen. David Perdue had a back-and-forth on Twitter yesterday as both candidates took time to mark Small Business Saturday.
Ossoff posted videos and photos of him making stops at several metro Atlanta small businesses, stopping by popular vegan burger restaurant Slutty Vegan in southwest Atlanta.
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The visit prompted a reply from Perdue, showing the senator and his wife at a Waffle House.
"Ossoff can have the plant burger, we'll take the all-star special. Pick your side, Georgia," Perdue wrote.
The race will determine which party controls the chamber at the outset of President-elect Joe Biden’s Democratic administration. Republicans need one more seat for a majority; Democrats need a sweep on Jan. 5.
Already $46 million has been spent on advertisements with an additional $214 million expected in the coming weeks.
Saturday morning, GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was in Cobb County, fielding tough questions from audience members about why they should even bother spending time or money on the race, referring to President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the state’s elections are rigged.
“If you lose your faith and you don’t vote and people walk away, that will decide it. So we have to work hard," McDaniel said. "Trust us, we’re fighting, we’re looking at every legal avenue.”
President Trump will have the chance to address supporters next Saturday when he’s slated to visit the state on behalf of Loeffler and Perdue.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.