Live Updates: Could COVID standoff impact critical Georgia Senate runoffs?
All eyes in the US are on the runoff election in Georgia, which could determine the party that controls the Senate
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump's request for $2,000 COVID relief checks may be complicating Georgia's two Senate runoff elections for a pair of Republican incumbents.
Sen. Kelley Loeffler, in a tight race against Democratic candidate, Rev. Raphael Warnock, said she would consider voting for the new figure, which Democrats originally pushed in the stimulus package if it diverted funds away from "wasteful spending."
Loeffler and her GOP colleague in the other Peach State runoff, Sen. David Perdue, voted in favor of a coronavirus relief bill Monday that included $600 checks, but their Democratic challengers Warnock and Jon Ossoff respectively called on both to back Trump’s calls for more cash for Americans.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Balloting for the Jan. 5 elections in two Senate runoffs is already underway.
FAST FACTS
- Sen. Loeffler said she would consider backing $2,000 checks
- Georgia voters have requested more than 1.3 million absentee ballots for the Jan. 5 Senate runoff races, while 1.2 million people have voted early in person.
- The runoffs will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate next year.
Separately, a group of Black pastors has signed a letter urging Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler to tone down her campaign’s attacks on Democratic challenger, the Rev. Raphael Warnock -- arguing that Warnock’s past statements are not "radical" or "socialist" when taken in context -- and accusing the senator of an "attack against the Black church."
Follow below for more updates on the Georgia runoff. Mobile users click here.
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