Trump traveling to Georgia ahead of Senate runoff that will decide control of Senate

David Jackson, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump travels to Georgia on Monday to campaign one last time in Senate runoff races that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the Senate, even as the president fights his own political battles that have splintered Republicans.

Previewing a campaign rally in Dalton, Trump served notice early he will talk as much about his election protests – and Wednesday's congressional vote on the Electoral College – as about the Republican Senate candidates in Georgia.

"You will see the real numbers tonight during my speech, but especially on JANUARY 6th," Trump tweeted.

The outgoing president campaigns a day before two runoff elections that will decide the fate of the Senate – and a day after release of a tape in which Trump is heard pressuring Georgia officials to "find" votes to help him reverse his loss to Joe Biden in the state, perhaps crossing a legal line.

In calling for an investigation, Democrats said Trump illegally demanded that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger change the results of Georgia's election; Republicans generally defended the president, though some said the phone call undercuts the party's chances on the eve of the pivotal Senate races in the Peach State.

"One of the things I think that everyone has said is that this call was not a helpful call," said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a Trump ally appearing on "Fox & Friends."

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., called it "a new low in this whole futile and sorry episode."

The Georgia rally begins a busy political week heralding the end of Trump's presidency.

More: Trump is heard on audiotape pressuring Georgia secretary of state to 'find' votes to overturn Biden's win

More: Fact check: Trump’s made-up claims of fake Georgia votes in controversial phone call

On Wednesday, Congress votes to certify Biden's win in the Electoral College, and some Republican lawmakers plan to challenge Biden's win. They lack the numbers to change the outcome, but their challenges will likely lead to contentious debates in both the House and the Senate.

Meanwhile, thousands of Trump supporters plan to stage protests throughout downtown Washington as Congress argues about the Electoral College.

Trump has said he will speak at a protest scheduled to be held near the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Trump is traveling to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Trump is traveling to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Some Republicans have criticized Trump and GOP colleagues for challenging Electoral College votes, saying it makes the party look anti-democratic. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called it an "egregious ploy" that "may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic."

Still, the Electoral College challenge will likely be mentioned by Trump in Georgia, even though the rally is ostensibly devoted to the two Senate runoff elections.

The two Republican candidates – Sen. Kelly Loeffler and former Sen. David Perdue – face tough election fights against Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. If the Democrats prevail, the new Senate would be split 50-50 between the parties, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris set to break the tie in favor of the Democrats.

Harris visited Georgia on Sunday, while Biden held a rally in the state on Monday. Biden told Georgia voters that "the power is literally in your hands" to change the U.S. Senate.

While Trump has urged Georgians to elect Republicans, GOP turnout may be threatened after Trump's battles with Republicans over his own election loss in the state.

More: Congress' count of Electoral College votes could be most contentious in 144 years. Here are past dramatic moments

More: 'Wild' protests: Police brace for pro-Trump rallies when Congress meets Jan. 6 to certify Biden's win

Trump has attacked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Raffensperger, and other state Republicans for not helping him subvert Biden's win in Georgia.

In a weekend phone call with Raffensperger and his aides, Trump berated the officials and said: "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have."

Raffensperger and his aides shot down Trump's conspiracy theories about the balloting in Georgia. They told the president the state's presidential vote, and Biden's win, was legitimate.

During the campaign, some Trump allies urged Republicans not to vote in the runoffs as a way to protest the presidential election.

Trump's attacks on state Republicans won't help GOP turnout, a point Trump himself made in his phone call with Raffensperger.

“Because of what you’ve done to the president, a lot of people aren’t going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president," Trump told the Georgia secretary of state, according to audio of the phone call.

The Democrats are seeking to use that call to juice their own turnout.

Ossoff called it a moment "when the President of the United States calls up Georgia’s election officials and tries to intimidate them to change the result of the elections, to disenfranchise Georgia voters."

“That is a direct attack on our democracy,” Ossoff said.

Democrats said Trump was illegally pressuring a state official to change an election result.

Trump "is unhinged and dangerous,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the intimidation of a state official “merits nothing less than a criminal investigation."

For nearly two decades, Georgia has been considered a safe Republican state. Democrats, however, have made steady gains in recent years, and have said Biden's win augurs more success in these two Senate races.

Republicans are also optimistic. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Georgian, told "Fox & Friends" he didn't think Trump's complaints would affect Republican turnout, and that the president and allies are working to keep control of the Senate.

"I think Trump is going to be Trump," he said, "whatever that means."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump stumps in Georgia for Republicans in Senate runoff

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