It has been said that Georgia's Senate races will play a decisive role in delineating America's character under US President-elect Joe Biden. In some ways, I have a feeling we've gone back to November. At the very least, these races will serve as a kind of do-over for the Republicans. What a way to kick off the new year.
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Three million Georgians have already exercised their right to vote in early elections for the state's two Senate seats, to be held on Tuesday.
The races are dramatic because they will decide who controls the US Senate. In early voting, the state broke a 2008 record for voter turnout for a Senate race. Locals' great interest in the races is a direct function of the fact that over the past two months, Georgia has become the focus of American politics. That's because after 30 years of going to Republicans, the state voted for the Democratic presidential candidate two months ago. The last time the state elected a Democratic senator was in 2000.
In the presidential election, Georgia went from red to purple, but will this also be the case with the Senate? One way or another, residents seem pleased with their new status that doesn't see them as in anyone's pocket.
Incumbents David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler, both Republicans, are trying to hold off efforts by Democrats Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, and Raphael Warnock to replace them in the Senate.
The Georgia elections have begun precisely where the presidential election left off: in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. The Democrats are once again running a mask campaign, and their supporters are staying in their cars for the drive-in rallies. The Republicans are warning voters their opponents are radical Democratic socialists, while the Democrats are accusing Republicans of being multimillionaires who are neglecting American during a pandemic.
The polls predict a tight race. Keep in mind that Atlanta and its suburbs have a large African American population, and many immigrants tend to vote Democrat. This time though, Georgia is split down the middle. The state that gave the US both former President Jimmy Carter and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich can no longer be categorized as your typical southern state in these elections due to demographic changes that have taken place.
Republicans are hoping that, as has been the case in recent decades, rural voters will lead them to victory. Democrats, however, believe demographic trends will work to their benefit just as they did in November, even though US President Donald Trump is not on the ballot this time around.
One way or another, Trump and Biden both plan to hold rallies in the state in the coming days, and that may just make the difference.
Should Trump succeed in leading the Republicans to victory in at least one of the races, that will help make him a kingmaker and the practical leader of the Republican party up until 2024.
For the next two years, Democrats will have control over the House of Representatives, and in another two weeks, control of the White House. That's why the Republicans' last hope is the Senate. Should the Democrats win both seats, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will serve as a tiebreaker. From a Republican perspective, however, just one victory on Tuesday will be enough for them to make Biden's presidency something of a nightmare for him.
In Atlanta, Georgia's largest city, residents are still in shock over what transpired in the city. Stacey Abrams, who came close to winning the Senate seat in 2018 and has since succeeded in significantly increasing the number of Democrats registering to vote is back to work and optimistic about her chances of success.
According to Abrams, she has succeeded in getting over 1 million Georgians to request early voting registration, a number nearly identical to those who registered to vote early in the presidential election in November. In recent days, two stories have been making headlines in the state. One concerns Ossoff's ties to a Chinese company in Hong Kong with ties to the regime in Beijing. The other concerns sermons Warnock gave at the church he leads, and which was once led by the late Dr. Matin Luther King Jr., in which he asked members of his church to join him in "dismantling the value system of the American empire" and asserting "nobody can serve God and the military." Nor did he forget to make Israel the target of his criticism two years ago.
One way or another, the race got another interesting twist when Perdue announced he would be forced to enter quarantine after coming into contact with a confirmed COVID-19 carrier. Nevertheless, in another surprising development, one of the most important polls in the state has shown Ossoff with a 7-point lead.
While early voting concerns Republicans, they can be encouraged by the reawakening of their base and the fact that libertarians who did not come out to vote for Trump may this time come to their assistance.
In Georgia, locals are passionate about their weapons and their church. Those are two good reasons for us to see a Republican awakening this week. While Democrats are encouraged by a large number of Georgians registering to vote, Republicans are encouraged by the high voter turnout come to Election Day. Now, where have I heard that before?
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