There's very cautious optimism that Senate Dem candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff may pull off narrow wins today in Georgia. Some takes from observers indicate that unhinged demagogue and election fraudster Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump's "find votes for me" crime along with his criticism of the election system may help tip the balance. From the WaPo's Power Up:
“Trump's been generally unhelpful throughout this whole process,” a GOP Senate aide told Power Up. “He’s managed to split the party at every turn since November and that division could result in lower turnout on our side,” the aide added, referring to Trump's last-minute demand for $2,000 stimulus checks followed by his veto of a $740 billion defense bill.
“Republicans should be prepared for a bad night,” the aide added.
“Without the Trump factor — and all the [expletive] he's done, then we'd probably win by three or five points,” a GOP strategist working on the runoff races in Georgia told us. “With the Trump factor, if we lose by one or two points, I won't be shocked.”
“Not only is Trump depressing turnout on the right but he's reminding independent voters, ‘Crap, maybe we do need Democrats in the Senate as Republicans are going along with these absurd efforts to find 11,780 votes,'" the GOP strategist added, referring to Trump's urging of Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) during a weekend phone call. (our emphasis)
Some Republican Georgia voters split their ticket in November, voting to remove Trump but to preserve their Republican Senators. Trump's unAmerican and seditious actions over the past month may cause a number of them to switch to Warnock and Ossoff. It's more likely that a combination of depressed Republican turnout and a surge in Dem voter turnout and registration (thanks, Stacey Abrams) will be the greater factor.
