Fresh off his Electoral College win, President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday headlined a drive-in rally in Georgia where he knocked Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler for embracing President Trump’s numerous attempts to overturn the election results.
Perdue and Loeffler “fully embraced nullifying nearly 5 million Georgia votes,” Biden said. “You might want to remember that come Jan. 5.”
Biden traveled to Georgia to campaign for Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ahead of twin runoff races that will undoubtedly shape his administration.
He told the crowd that it was time to “take back our democracy.”
Ossoff and Warnock are going head-to-head against Perdue and Loeffler on Jan. 5. The races are close, and the stakes couldn’t get much higher.
“Send me these two men and we will control the Senate, and we will change the lives of the people in Georgia,” Biden said.
The Democratic challengers are hoping to capitalize on the former vice president’s popularity in the Peach State to give their campaigns a boost.
The runoffs are also being viewed as an early test of Biden’s power as president-elect, even though Trump, despite dozens of defeats in court, continues to grab headlines for refusing to concede and hasn’t let up on claims that the election was rigged.
Biden campaigned as a mainstream candidate ready to unify the country. His message resonated with Georgians, and a massive turnout helped him turn the ruby-red state blue. But in order for Ossoff and Warnock to duplicate Biden’s win, they will have to convince centrist voters that their message lines up with Biden’s.
The president-elect’s visit comes on the second day of early voting in Georgia.
The Delaware Democrat made a direct appeal to Georgians about what’s at stake in the runoff races. He wants sweeping economic relief for small businesses, individuals, and state and local governments as the cases of COVID-19 continue to rise but warned it would only be possible if Ossoff and Warnock win.
“Georgia, we need to do right by Joe Biden,” Ossoff said. “We need to make sure Joe Biden can pass his agenda because if Mitch McConnell controls the Senate, they’re going to try to do to Joe and Kamala just like they tried to do to President Obama. They will block the COVID relief.”
The Senate race in Georgia is shaping up to be the most expensive in U.S. history.
A conservative estimate put the total around $500 million.
Biden’s campaign, in coordination with the Democratic National Committee, has put about $5 million into the Democrats’ coordinated campaign. The money goes to pay for 50 staffers, including several focused on suburbs and smaller cities where Biden bested Trump.
The Biden campaign and the national party have also raised $10 million directly for Ossoff and Warnock. Much of the other money Ossoff and Warnock have pulled in has come from small donors.
