Stacey Abrams says Warnock, Ossoff ‘Leading Kind of Turnout’ Democrats Need in Ga.

Democratic activist and organizer Stacey Abrams praised Georgia Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for “increasing” voter turnout and “leading 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 second round of January 5, after neither contender secured more than 50 percent in the November 3 general election. Under Georgia’s constitution, candidates must obtain a majority of votes, not just a plurality, to win their race. The two second rounds have become exceptionally 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 Georgia House of Representatives who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, emphasized to CNN on Monday morning that Warnock and Ossoff appear to have already brought in a considerable number of new voters in the early vote. .

“The numbers tell their own story. More than 2 million voters voted, including 65,000 voters who did not vote in November, who were disproportionately under 29 and people of color,” explained Abrams. Notably, President-elect Joe Biden managed to turn Georgia blue by a margin of just under 12,000 votes.

“We are seeing active engagement across the state, including in rural parts of the state among black and brown voters. We are seeing participation rates that are incredible for the state of Georgia,” she added.

Abrams expressed confidence that “Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff did an exceptional job of engaging voters, increasing participation and leading the type of attendance we need to win this election.”

Newsweek he reached out to Loeffler and Perdue’s press representatives for comment, but they did not respond immediately.

Participation in early voting for the second round of the Senate in Georgia has far surpassed the state’s last race, which was in 2008. But an uphill battle remains for Democrats. Georgia remains a conservative Republican stronghold, although demographics have changed in recent years – as was evident in Biden’s narrow victory there in November.

However, Democrats must win both Senate contests to share the upper house of Congress equally with Republicans. In this scenario, Democrats would have close control, as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would have the final say when casting any tiebreaker vote.

Research in Georgia has been mixed, with the majority showing a close dispute. Some have shown Republicans a slight advantage, while others have Democratic opponents in the lead. Others show a split dispute, with a Republican and a Democrat leading the way.

Recent research by Reconnect Research / Probolsky Research shows that Warnock is ahead of Loeffler by only 1 percentage point, 43% to 42%. Meanwhile, Perdue leads Ossoff in this poll by 1%, with the same division from 43% to 42%. The poll was conducted from December 14 to 22 and surveyed 1,027 likely voters in the state.