Democratic candidates for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats linked hands Wednesday night in a show of campaign unity aimed at invigorating the state’s Democratic voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
Candidates Jon Ossoff, an investigative journalist challenging U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church running against U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., held a virtual town hall leading into the third night of the Democratic National Convention.
The event sought to highlight criticism of the Republican senators and to strengthen the Democratic frontrunner status of Warnock, who is competing alongside several other Democratic candidates in the race against Loeffler including Matt Lieberman, the son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
“This is a winning ticket,” Warnock said. “We represent the continuation of a grand tradition that is multi-racial, that is multi-religious … this is America at its finest.”
“It’s just an honor to be running alongside you, reverend,” Ossoff said. “Thank you.”
Warnock’s campaign estimated more than 123,000 supporters watched Wednesday’s event.
Democratic leaders view Georgia as a key battleground state with two Senate seats in play and shifting demographics that saw former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams lose by a slim margin to now-Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018.
Voter turnout is expected to top 5 million in November with a presidential contest and double the usual number of Senate seats in play, after former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson retired at the start of the year due to health issues. Loeffler was appointed to hold his seat until the November election.
Warnock, who has held off on in-person campaigning so far amid the COVID-19 pandemic, used the virtual talk to stress his platform of expanding health care including Medicaid coverage and strengthening voter protections, a key Democratic stance that has been bolstered by Abrams.
Recent polls have shown Warnock running closely with Lieberman, who has raised far less in campaign contributions and took heat this month for a self-published novel criticized for containing racist tropes.
The presence of multiple Democratic candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot could play a huge role in deciding whether a Democratic candidate makes the likely runoff in January, with Loeffler also fielding stiff competition within her own party from U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville.
Ossoff, who lost a tight race to Republican Karen Handel for the 6th Congressional District seat in 2017, won the primary election outright in June to avoid a potentially expensive and divisive runoff for the Democratic nomination against former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson.
Tomlinson has also backed Warnock’s campaign, as has 7th Congressional District Democratic nominee Carolyn Bourdeaux and a host of state and national Democratic leaders, including Abrams.