President Trump will visit Georgia to stump for Republican senators in a pair of runoff elections that will determine whether the party maintains control of the U.S. Senate for the next two years.
A senior adviser to the president confirmed to the Washington Examiner the president’s plan to appear in the state ahead of Republican Sens. David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler’s Jan. 5 races. Politico first reported that advisers expect Trump to make an appearance.
A separate source, Jason Miller, a Trump campaign adviser, indicated any help from Trump would come after the election results are clear to the campaign. “President Trump will be doing everything he can to help Senators Perdue and Loeffler, though I would not expect any substantial activity until after the statewide recount is completed and the presidential race is decided,” Miller said.
The final result of the presidential election will be determined when the Electoral College votes on Dec. 14.
If Republicans lose more than one of the seats, they will cede their party’s Senate majority to the Democrats. Outside groups have already committed millions of dollars to the runoff races.
In Georgia, where Trump is waging a legal fight over the vote count, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Wednesday that a full audit of the recent presidential election results would start today.
All ballots will be recounted by hand, Raffensperger said.
Stefan Passantino, counsel to the Trump campaign’s legal efforts in Georgia, called the measure “a precertification survey.” He said the audit is likely to be completed by Nov. 20, when the secretary of state is required to certify election results.
“It is our understanding that this process is going to be intense,” he told reporters on a Wednesday phone call.
Presumptive president-elect Joe Biden leads Trump by more than 14,000 votes in the state, with 99% reporting.
