Stacey Abrams says Warnock, Democrats’ ‘leading kind of rise’ from Ossoff in Ga. Runoffs

Democratic activist and organizer Stacey Abrams praised Georgia’s senatorial candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for “increasing” voter turnout and “leading the way for the kind of turnout” Democrats need to win in the traditionally conservative state.

Warnock and Ossoff will face Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the Jan. 5 result, after none of the contenders won more than 50 percent in the Nov. 3 general election. not just a plurality to win their race. The two runoffs have become extraordinarily prominent on the national political scene, as they will decide whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate.

Abrams, the former Democratic minority leader of the House of Representatives of Georgia who unsuccessfully elected a governor in 2018, told CNN Monday morning that Warnock and Ossoff have apparently already brought in a significant number of new voters.

“The numbers tell their own story. More than 2 million voters cast their ballots, including 65,000 voters who did not vote in November, who were outside the age of 29 and people of color,” Abrams explained. President-elect Joe Biden succeeded in turning Georgia by a margin of just under 12,000 votes.

“We are seeing an active involvement across the state, including in rural parts of the state among black and colored voters. We are seeing that turnout is incredible for the state of Georgia,” she added.

Abrams expressed confidence that ‘Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have done an exceptional job of engaging voters, increasing participation and leading the kind of turnout we need to win this election.’

Newsweek reached out to the press representatives of Loeffler and Perdue for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Participation in the early voting for the Senate’s run in Georgia far exceeded the state’s last such contest, which was in 2008. But an uphill battle remains for the Democrats. Georgia is still a conservative Republican stronghold, though demographics have changed in recent years – as evidenced by Biden’s narrow victory there in November.

However, Democrats must win both Senate contests to split the upper chamber of Congress equally with Republicans. In that scenario, the Democrats would have tight control, as the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, would have the last say by breaking out of votes.

The polls from Georgia are mixed, and most show a tough race. Some have shown the Republicans with a slight advantage, while others have the Democratic challengers at the forefront. Others show a split race, with one Republican and one Democrat ahead.

A recent survey by Reconnect Research / Probolsky Research shows that Warnock Loeffler led by just 1 percentage point, 43 to 42 percent. Meanwhile, Perdue Ossoff leads the poll by 1 percent, with the same split from 43 to 42 percent. The survey was conducted from December 14 to 22 and 1,027 likely voters in the state were polled.