+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Stacey Abrams says Democrats have the enthusiasm and resources to pick up 2 Senate seats in Georgia

Nov 9, 2020, 06:52 IST
Business Insider
On Election Day in Georgia's DeKalb County, Democratic US Senate candidate Reverend Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams speak to voters at the Coan Recreation Center in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday November 3, 2020.Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
  • Democrats are hopeful they can win both Senate seats up for grabs in Georgia's Jan. 5 runoff elections.
  • The races pit Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock against incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
  • "I want to push back against this anachronistic notion that we can't win in Georgia," Stacey Abrams told CNN on Sunday.
Advertisement

If Joe Biden can win Georgia — and it looks like he will — then Democrats believe there's no good reason the state can't also elect two senators who share the president-elect's agenda.

At stake in the January 5 runoff elections, being held because no candidate cleared 50% in the November elections, is control of the US Senate. If Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock can unseat their respective Republican opponents, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, the upper chamber will effectively be in Democratic hands.

If they can't, a Kentucky Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell, will stay on as Senate Majority Leader, with Democrats fearing he will obstruct Biden's presidency just as he did Barack Obama's.

Stacey Abrams, who lost a narrow battle to become Georgia's governor in 2018, is optimistic.

"I want to push back against this anachronistic notion that we can't win in Georgia," Abrams told CNN on Sunday. Since her narrow defeat in the gubernatorial race, Abrams and her organization, Fair Fight, have registered 800,000 new voters, work that has changed the face of the electorate helped turn a red state into a battleground.

Advertisement

In 2020, 7.6 million Georgians were registered to vote, compared to 4.6 million in 2000.

Abrams said Democrats will also not lack enthusiasm or resources, buoyed by the defeat of President Donald Trump — with Republicans commensurately demoralized by his loss (and false claims that elections are rigged) — and backed by what is expected to a record campaign chest, with Democrats expected to drop over $100 million on the Warnock-Loeffler race alone, according to CNBC.

"This is going to be the determining factor of whether we have access to healthcare and access to justice in the United States," Abrams said. "Those are two issues that make certain people will turn out," she said, and Ossoff and Warnock "are the two men who are going to make certain that Joe Biden has the leadership, the support, and the congressional mandate he needs to move this country forward."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article