Democrats hold edge in early in-person voting in Georgia Senate run-off races leaving Republicans looking for big Election Day boost
Democrats hold an edge in early, in-person voting in the Georgia Senate run-off races, leaving Republicans looking for a big Election Day boost.
Fox News Channel reported Thursday that 2.8 million Georgians had already cast a ballot, with black voters making up a larger percentage of voters than in the November general election, which could be good news for Democratic Senate hopefuls Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.
Additionally, there's been higher turnout in Democratic Congressional districts than Republican ones.
There's been higher turnout in Democratic Congressional districts versus Republicans ones and a higher percentage of black voters than in the fall, which could be good news for Democratic Senate hopefuls Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock
Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue will have to make up any voting deficit on Election Day Tuesday. Perdue announced Thursday he was in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 by a staff member
The amount counts for more than a third of the 4.9 million Georgians who voted in the November 3 general election.
Ossoff and Warnock are challenging GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively.
Perdue announced Thursday he was in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 by a staff member.
If Democrats pick up both seats the party will have 50 members of the Senate - and with the help of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a majority.
Harris will return to the state Sunday to campaign, while President-elect Joe Biden will be in Atlanta Monday.
President Donald Trump will also hold a rally in Dalton, Georgia Monday, which will be one of his few public appearances since Election Day.
Georgia-based GOP consultant Chip Lake told Fox News that 'the early-voting numbers are certainly a little more favorable to Democrats than the early-voting data that we had in November.'
'Republicans need to have a strong Election Day turnout on Tuesday. Election Day votes count the exact same as early votes. We had just under a million people vote on Election Day on Nov. 3,' Lake continued. 'For Republicans to win these runoff races, I think it’s crucial that we need to have Election Day turnout at 800,000 votes or higher on Tuesday.'
Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's top strategist who's running the Georgia Republicans fundraising apparatus, wrote in a memo earlier this week, 'the combined total number of votes cast so far by absentee mail-in and in-person early voting is a couple points more Democratic than it was in the fall,' Fox reported.
In November, Biden won the state, flipping it to red for the first time since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Both Ossoff and Warnock did well enough to squeak out a run-off, which occurs when neither Senate candidate reach a 50 per cent threshold.
Election Day is Tuesday, January 5.