'I want to get something done': Biden urges Georgians to vote in key Senate runoff election
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ATLANTA — President-elect Joe Biden traveled to Atlanta on Tuesday, just one day after the Electoral College affirmed his victory in the national election over President Trump, to thank Georgians for putting him over the top and to remind them that the job is not done.
“I know what we can do,” Biden said at an outdoor drive-in rally. “I know what this country is capable of. I know the future we can build together. Now it’s time to send Jon [Ossoff] and [the Rev.] Raphael [Warnock] to Washington to help me get it done.”
Biden held the rally in the Kirkwood section of Atlanta at Pratt-Pullman Yard, a historic landmark in the city. A sea of packed, honking cars filled the industrial area, while a crowd of about 500 onlookers stood by listening to speakers just outside the yard’s gates. It was Biden’s first official trip since being named the 46th president, and he didn’t hold back in his rebuke of Georgia’s two Republican senators.
”Maybe your senators were just confused,” Biden said of David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who backed a baseless Texas lawsuit that tried and failed to overturn the election results in four states. “Maybe they think they represent Texas. Well if they want to do the bidding of Texas, they should be running there instead of here in Georgia.”
Biden spent much of his speech encouraging Georgians to head to the polls in favor of Ossoff and Warnock, the two Democrats running against the incumbent GOP senators.
“I need two senators from this state [on my side],” he said. “I want to get something done. Not two senators who are just going to get in the way. Because look, getting nothing done just hurts Georgia.”
Biden’s trip to the Peach State coincides with early voting there that kicked off on Monday. In the first two days, nearly a half million Georgians have already cast their ballots.
At the rally, former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Ossoff and Warnock took turns on the stage ahead of Biden, each stressing the importance of the runoff race, slated for Jan. 5.
“We’ve got to stay committed and have a plan,” Abrams said. “I’ve got two plans. Their names are Ossoff and Warnock.”
Unless Georgia elects both Democratic contenders, the GOP will retain its Senate majority and its ability to block Democratic legislation. And while it’s difficult to accurately poll special elections, surveys have indicated that the Democrats are roughly neck and neck with their Republican opponents.
“My message is simple,” Ossoff said. “It’s time to vote and the polls are open.”
Ossoff said that “health, jobs and justice” are at stake in the election.
“Georgia, we need to do right by Joe Biden,” he added. “We need to make sure Joe Biden can pass his agenda. Because if Mitch McConnell controls the Senate, they’re going to try to do to Joe and [Vice President-elect] Kamala [Harris] just like they tried to do to President Obama. They will block the COVID relief.”
Warnock offered an even starker message to Georgians.
“Elections are a matter of life and death,” he said. “So vote like your life depends on it, because it does.”
Below are key dates for Georgians to remember ahead of the state’s Senate runoff elections on Jan. 5, 2021:
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