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MARIETTA, Georgia – Conservative voters are shocked at how Election Day unfolded in Georgia, but now Republicans are trying to turn anger over Democratic successes into GOP wins in January.
More than a week after the election, some Republicans continue to cling to hopes that a recount here will reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s lead and give President Donald Trump a victory in a state that has not backed a Democrat in the White House for almost three decades. While the state remains “too close to call,” Biden is currently ahead by around 14,000 votes.
GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler fights Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff. Senator David Perdue’s race against Democrat Jon Ossoff is deemed “too close to be called” by NBC News, but the Republican has started mounting a second-round campaign, bowing to the possibility that he could fall in. below the 50% threshold to win outright.
Both parties appear keen to run a Senate referendum on whether Biden’s party should control Congress. If the Democrats won the two seats held by Loeffler and Perdue, it would give control of the Senate chamber to their party.
“The road to socialism does not pass through Georgia!” Loeffler told the crowd at an event here on Veterans Day. “Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi – you’re not going to take Georgia.”
Some conservative voters in the state say they are surprised and upset to see what they saw as safe Republican territory slipping away from them. Perdue and Loeffler echoed Trump’s insinuations about the irregularity of the election, which are unfounded but some of his supporters believe here.
“There is so much voter fraud it makes me sick,” said Jill Hovies, 70, of Kennesaw. “I think Hollywood bought this election. The far-left crowd and the media bought this election. It is not fair. It is total fraud. “
There has been no evidence of pervasive electoral fraud in the United States, but Trump has insisted it’s to blame in the places he follows Biden. Even without Georgia, Biden has won enough states to become the next president of NBC News projects.
Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Wednesday there would be a manual recount of all paper ballots in the state. He rejected calls this week by Loeffler and Perdue to resign over allegations of election misconduct for which they failed to provide evidence, and said the two lawmakers should focus more on maintaining a Senate of GOP.
Even though Biden’s margin is substantial, Hovies said she “prays” that the recount reverses the result and that she is “disappointed” by Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp, also a Republican, for not finding out about the results. fraudulent ballots.
“I don’t understand how it went in Biden,” she said. “I really don’t. It’s sad. It’s scary.”
Hovies and others here at an event hosted by the Cobb County GOP, in an Atlanta suburb that leans towards Democrats, said if there were two rounds in January, they would vote Perdue and Loeffler.
Loeffler is also looking at a national message.
On Tuesday, she ran a negative advertisement on Warnock, linking the prominent black pastor to the controversial remarks of Reverend Jeremiah Wright and saying he “sympathizes with Marxists and Socialists” and “wants to make your neighborhoods less safe.”
Appearing on MSNBC Wednesday, Warnock responded by describing Loeffler as using his office for profit.
“She did a very good job protecting her own wallet when she heard about the coronavirus pandemic … Georgians haven’t seen any real relief for several months,” he said. “She prefers to talk about all of these things because I imagine it must be hard to explain why you want to get rid of health care in the middle of a pandemic.”
Democrats are also trying to turn the presidential race into enthusiasm within their base.
At an Ossoff rally, speaker after speaker highlighted the issues in the Senate, presenting it as a choice for Georgians to allow Biden to continue his agenda or allow the GOP to obstruct him.
“We need this new administration to be able to successfully fight this virus, promote economic recovery, expand civil rights, adopt criminal justice reform. And if Mitch McConnell controls the Senate, nothing will be done. Washington will be mired in a partisan deadlock, ”Ossoff told NBC News in an interview before taking the stage. “I think people want to see this elected president succeed in a time of crisis. And that’s why these races are so important.
For Republicans like Scott Johnson of Marietta, who sits on the National Board of Education, holding the Senate is key to stopping the Democratic agenda.
“This is the most important thing. More important than Thanksgiving and Christmas, ”he joked. “We haven’t asked to be the political center of the universe for the next eight weeks, but we will be.”
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