1.4 million people have voted already in Georgia: Of those votes, 569,267 were cast via absentee ballots and 901,497 were cast during early in-person voting, reports HuffPo. These numbers at this point outpace the November general election, though the Democratic edge is a bit smaller this time around.
Biden made an appearance in Georgia to stump for Ossoff and Warnock: Fresh off his Electoral College win, he tied both the Democrats' victories to his administration's agenda. “I need two senators from this state who want to get something done, not two senators who are just going to get in the way,” he said. “Send me these two men and we will control the Senate and change the lives of the people of Georgia.”
Over the weekend Donald Trump, Jr. also spoke in the Peach State: Ashley Reese at Jezebel deftly tears apart Donny Jr.'s awful attire at the rally. If anything, you must peep the sneaks.
Kamala Harris also visited Georgia: Even though she had to cut her time in the Peach State short due to yesterday's Senate vote on the stimulus bill, the Vice President-elect spoke in Columbus, Georgia in support of Ossoff and Warnock. "We've got it within our power, and you have it within your hands, to make a statement about who is Georgia," she said in a parking lot to hundreds of Democrats, also touching on the issue of voter suppression. A 2020 image if I've ever seen one!
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris campaigned in Columbus, Georgia, for Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock for the January 5 runoff elections that will determine which party controls the Senate pic.twitter.com/Rw5NTCtmQe
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 21, 2020
Facebook says yes to ads—but only in Georgia: The social media behemoth announced last week that they would make an exception to their political ad ban, letting campaigns and other organizations post ads for the Georgia runoff. This decision comes after Facebook banned political advertising back in October to stop the spread of misinformation ahead of the 2020 general. Georgia Republicans and Democrats alike criticized the platform's decision, saying it prevented them from reaching their respective bases.
Are any of us surprised? None of the money donated to Trump's super PAC, Save America, appears to help either Republican in the GA race, despite emails pleading the contrary. According to ABC News, the PAC hasn't placed any television or radio ads in the race nor has it reported any independent expenditures in support of Perdue or Loeffler.
That said: Trump says that he's planning on coming back down to Georgia on January 4 for a giant rally. Maybe that'll set the stage for his 2024 presidential bid?
As badly as we were treated in Georgia by the “Republican” Governor and “Republican” Secretary of State, we must have a massive victory for two great people, @KLoeffler & @sendavidperdue, on January 5th. I will be having a big Rally for them on Monday night, January 4th. WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2020
Poll shows both Republican incumbents gaining on Ossoff and Warnock: A survey from Trafalgar Group shows Loeffler leading Warnock by 6 percent among likely voters while Perdue is ahead of Ossoff by 2 percentage points.
The GOP is also outspending Democrats in advertisements to the tune of $86 million to $30 million: Though Ossoff and Warnock are hauling in record small-dollar donations, Republican political organizations are dropping boatloads of ca$h onto the Georgian TV and airwaves—especially markets outside of Atlanta. The lack of spending reflects big-time Democratic donors' doubts about Warnock and Ossoff's chances, but also growing skepticism that ads equal success.
A coalition of Black pastors slammed Loeffler in an open letter, condemning her attacks against Warnock as "a broader attack against the Black Church and faith traditions for which we stand." If you'll remember, Loeffler LOVES calling Warnock a "radical," "socialist," and "Marxist," taking context-less snippets from his previous sermons to try and question his faith. These Black pastors aren't having it: "We call on you to cease and desist your false characterizations of Reverend Warnock as 'radical' or 'socialist,' when there is nothing in his background, writings or sermons that suggests those characterizations to be true, especially when taken in full context."
A judge dismissed Loeffler and Perdue's lawsuit asking Georgia election officials to separate ballots of newly-registered voters from previously registered voters: The suit urged a separation of ballots based on voter registration date and also for the court to declare it unlawful for voters "who previously cast ballots for senators in other states on Nov. 3 to cast them in Georgia's runoff." Uhhhhhhh? Judge Lisa Godbey Wood thought the same. She dismissed the case for lack of standing.
Loeffler can't seem to stop posing with white supremacists: After last week's incident, yet another photo dropped of Loeffler with a known extremist. I wrote about the pic on Thursday.
The good people over at Slate graded Ossoff's TikTok game: You must take the time to read the article, but here's the TikTok that earned Ossoff an A grade:
@jon 44 + 46 = ❤️
♬ original sound - Liz
