MCDONOUGH, Georgia — Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem offered a different reason to vote for Georgia GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in Tuesday’s critical runoffs: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
“If we don’t win these Senate seats, the deciding vote in the Senate is going to be Kamala Harris, the most extreme liberal senator we have,” Noem said Sunday in McDonough, Georgia, warming up the crowd for Loeffler.
The governor added of Harris, “We don’t want that individual breaking ties in the Senate on the most controversial pieces of legislation in this country.”
Noem, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is a staunch Loeffler ally and supported the senator in December during her debate against Democratic Rev. Raphael Warnock. Loeffler and Warnock’s Jan. 5 runoff coincides with a twin race: the one between Perdue and Democratic filmmaker Jon Ossoff.
The contests could cancel out Republicans’ 50-48 seat Senate majority.
From the back of a pick-up truck parked on McDonough’s quaint main square still lined with Christmas decorations, Noem explained the reason she was in Georgia was because the state’s elections would also affect South Dakota.
“I’ve been telling folks this is not just about our Constitution. It’s not just about liberty. It’s about what does life look like a year from now if you elect the wrong person,” she said.
Noem claimed that Democratic Senate control would lead to increases in the cost of living and the number of regulations impinging on everyday life, while communities would become less safe. She used the example of Democratic leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing it had resulted in free speech and religious freedom infringements, as well as hindered the right to assemble.
“The only reason you know who I am is that the liberals have been busy beating me up for every single decision I’ve been making for my people in South Dakota,” she said. “My people are happy. They are happy because they’re free.”
Noem is one of several national political figures who have descended on Georgia before Tuesday. Harris is campaigning for Ossoff and Warnock in Savannah on Sunday evening, while President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and President-elect Joe Biden will be in the state on Monday.
