Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday that the case of widespread electoral fraud would be presented to the American people when Congress met this week to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump.
“We all have our doubts about the last election. I share the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities, ”said Pence at an indoor congregation at Rock Springs Church in Milner, Georgia, in support of Sens Republicans. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the second round of the elections there.
Pence, who by law will be tasked with declaring the winner of the Electoral College vote, seemed to leave open the possibility that Trump could still remain in power for a second term.
“Come this Wednesday,” he said, referring to the imminent certification of electoral results, “we will have our day in Congress. Let’s hear the evidence. “
Biden beat the state of Georgia by 12,000 votes, and three separate recounts confirmed that victory. But with Trump contesting the election results and pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to “find 11,780 votes” and declare him the winner, Pence’s job of getting the votes in the two Senate run-off elections became more precarious.
If Loeffler and Perdue lose to Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, the Senate will be split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris a tiebreaker and making it much easier for Biden’s agenda.
“I hear some people saying, ‘Just don’t vote,'” said Pence, referring to several Trump followers suggested voters boycott the election. “If you don’t vote, they win.”
From the moment that Rock Springs senior pastor Benny Tate introduced him with “He’s a Christian, he’s a conservative, he’s a Republican, in that order,” it was clear that Pence’s faith would play a significant role in his comments. He praised the role of prayer in American life; he claimed that the Trump administration protected religious freedom; and, in a particularly loud line of applause, he thundered, “Let’s keep Georgia and save America!”
Pence also praised the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19, praising the jobs recovered and the vaccines launched and arguing that America is approaching the final stage of the pandemic. “We know what we need to do to stop the spread and level the curve,” he said in front of the internal crowd, many of whom were unmasked.
Maybe it was the fact that he was behind a pulpit, or maybe he was climbing up to the gravity of the moment, but Pence was more excited and engaged than in most previous public appearances. He spoke with a preacher’s cadence, modulated his voice to project sincerity and determination and made a point of tying himself directly to Trump, which generated the loudest screams of the rally.
“We are waiting for you, Georgia, we are waiting for you to keep the line,” he said, “and I believe with all my heart that you will.”
Election day is Tuesday, with early voting already completed. FiveThirtyEight’s current average for all racing polls has Ossoff ahead by 1.4 percentage points and Warnock ahead by 2 percentage points, although those margins have decreased slightly since the weekend.
Pence’s rally was the second of several major visits to Georgia in the days leading up to the election. Harris spoke at a rally in Savannah on Sunday, Biden is scheduled to speak on Monday afternoon in Atlanta and Trump will hold a rally in Dalton on Monday night.
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