Georgia voters enraged after Democrats promise of '$2,000 checks' becomes $1,400

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Georgia Democrats have reportedly already begun fuming over their two new senators, the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who were sworn in Wednesday by Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a new report.

Both men narrowly won hard-fought races against Republican incumbents in the Peach State, winning control of the Senate for the Democrats in the process.

But a major issue raised by critics is that President Biden espoused a coronavirus relief plan that would send $1,400 checks to many Americans – while Warnock and Ossoff campaigned on a $2,000 promise.

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"Warnock and Ossoff made it a point to endorse and exclusively say ‘$2,000 checks,’" Georgia Democrat Oscar Zaro told Mediaite. "A lot of the people in my district voted blue in the runoff for two main reasons. One: Loeffler and Perdue denying us relief during COVID while profiting millions themselves; and two, $2,000 checks."

Leading into the Jan. 5 runoff elections were a series of campaign events espousing the $2,000 stimulus check proposal in the days after former President Trump signed a $600-check plan in late December.

Then-President-elect Joe Biden stands on stage with Georgia Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Raphael Warnock, right, and Jon Ossoff, left, in Atlanta, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Senate Republicans blocked a $2,000 plan at the time even though it had Trump's support.

"If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency for so many people who are struggling right now," Biden said at a rally for both candidates on Jan. 4.

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Reelecting GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, on the other hand, would ensure "those checks will never get there," he argued.

Rogelio Linares, a Democratic canvasser during the runoff elections, told Mediaite that he feels "like s---" over the issue and called it "a betrayal of the working class.

"I was lying to people that were relying on this," he said. "At the time I didn’t know it was a lie. But that was not the reality."

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Another Peach State voter, Justin Wade, told the outlet the $1,400 checks are "a bad sign" and noted that Democrats and supportive PACs had dumped record-breaking totals on campaign spending into the state in their effort to win the Senate -- only to immediately back away from the $2,000 total.

In a slew of tweets and televised interviews, Ossoff brought up the $2,000 issue and attacked his opponent, Perdue, over the payouts.

" If David Perdue really wanted $2000 direct relief checks for the people, he'd be on the floor of the Senate demanding McConnell put up the House bill for a vote," Ossoff tweeted at one point.

The $2,000 check issue became so prominent in the Georgia races that even the Republican candidates endorsed the call for bigger checks.

But now Biden is supporting a $1,400 plan. On top of December’s $600 checks, the total adds up to $2,000 – but critics say the campaign messaging was clear. It called for $2,000 checks.

Progressives from other states, including "Squad" Reps. Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush, have also criticized the $1,400 move.

A Fox News Voter Analysis conducted on the runoff elections also found that 43% of Georgia voters viewed the coronavirus pandemic as the country’s most important issue, and 72% said they felt Congress had done too little about it to help individual Americans.

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Due to the wins by Ossoff and Warnock, Democrats and the two independent senators who caucus with them have a 50-50 split in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris representing a tie-breaking vote. And though moderate Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he would "absolutely not" vote for $2,000 checks, it could still pass with minor Republican support.

Spokespeople for Warnock and Ossoff did not immediately respond to Fox News' requests for comment.