Former President Barack Obama has recorded a new campaign message on behalf of Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is running to unseat incumbent Republican David Perdue in one of Georgia’s two closely watched U.S. Senate races. In the other contest, Democrat Raphael Warnock is hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler. The outcome of the two races will determine control of the Senate — with two Democratic victories, the chamber will be 50-50, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be tasked with breaking any ties. In the new Ossoff ad in which Obama appears, the former president calls on Georgians to “step up” and send Ossoff to the Senate in order to — among other things — work to “beat this virus and rebuild our economy.”
We’re just one week away from the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia.
If you’re in Georgia, make a plan to vote early if you can and reach out to your friends and family to make sure they do the same. https://t.co/HSghgIABEF
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2020
Obama commented as follows:
‘This year has tested America’s spirits. We’ve lost loved ones, faced injustice, struggled to make ends meet. But we kept at it. We looked out for each other. And when the moment came to reject fear and division and send a message for change, Georgia stepped up. Now, America is counting on you again. You can send Jon Ossoff to the Senate to beat this virus and rebuild our economy, to make sure everybody can afford health care, to carry the torch John Lewis passed to us with a new Voting Rights Act that secures equal justice for all. Georgia, you have the power. And now it’s time to vote.’
Check out Obama’s message below:
As Obama referenced, President-elect Joe Biden recently won Georgia in the first victory for a Democratic presidential nominee in the state since Bill Clinton was on the ballot in the 1990s. Outgoing President Donald Trump and his allies have targeted Georgia in their attacks against the election outcome, and just this Wednesday, top Trump defender Rudy Giuliani appeared at a Georgia state legislative committee hearing, where he delusionally claimed that the recently concluded presidential election was the “most manipulated election in American history.” In reality, no credible authority anywhere in the country has confirmed the Trump team’s fraud claims.
Ahead of January 5 — Election Day in Georgia’s Senate run-offs — a number of Republicans have brought lawsuits in attempts to degrade voting accessibility in the name of “security,” or whatever. All of these anti-democratic Senate election-related lawsuits have failed.
🚨BREAKING: Georgia federal court DISMISSES the GOP’s 5th voter suppression lawsuit related to the upcoming Georgia run-off elections. This one by Lin Wood.
GOP and allies are 0-5 in Georgia run-off election litigation. https://t.co/Jedbqb5afO
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 28, 2020
