Georgia Senate race at center of 2022 majority battle

On Apr 15, 2021

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The GOP is setting its sights on flipping the Senate majority next year. A key battleground will be the Peach State, where the Republicans lost the November presidential election, as well as both Senate seats in the January runoffs.

“I want to keep making sure that I’m contributing to our conservative movement,” said Kelly Loeffler, former Ga. Republican Senator.

Loeffler is bouncing back following her loss to Reverend Raphael Warnock by launching a new voter organization devoted to registering and mobilizing Georgia Republicans.

“If we want to grow the tent, we should keep the tent up. We should not take it down after elections,” said Loeffler.

Loeffler’s group, Greater Georgia, will be a conservative counter to advocacy groups on the left, like Fair Fight, that made the state competitive by engaging disaffected voters and new residents. Loeffler said the latest trends show the Democrats have an advantage in recent new voter registrations, and they hope to close that gap.

“I’m going to continue to support the growth of our party in the state, to invite more people in, to make sure that we have more diversity, that we hear more voices in our party,” said Loeffler.

Loeffler and many other Republicans are considering running for Senate next year, when Senator Raphael Warnock’s seat will be up for a full, six-year term.

But intra-party fighting between former President Donald Trump and Georgia GOP officials, plus the aftermath of the deadly Capitol riot have complicated the future path for Georgia Republicans.

“I think we’re going to have a big win in Georgia in 2022,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

Florida Senator Rick Scott recently took over as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Days ago, he issued a memo declaring an end to the GOP civil war. But questions remain of whether the party can unite any time soon.

Scott says conservatives can rally around the issues that unite them to win back the Senate majority next year. And he says Trump could play an important role.

“I’ll be very direct on what I believe can be helpful to us and how we win elections,” said Scott.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is confident of victory, predicting that Republicans will repeat the quote same “nasty internal feuding” that cost them the Presidential election and the runoffs in January.

Here’s the full statement from the DSCC: “The primary battle lines are already plagued by the same nasty internal feuding that cost the GOP both of Georgia’s Senate seats in January. Failed candidates Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins are both considering campaigns and a potential scorched-earth relitigation of their bitter 2020 battle. Loeffler is haunted by her “short stint in the Senate” which “turned into a race to the party’s right,” while Collins’ failed run was spurned by top Georgia Republicans as he “pilloried Loeffler as a squishy moderate.” These two losing candidates are already taking shots at each other, and other Republican contenders are considering campaigns of their own –– a sign that the Georgia GOP’s divisive infighting won’t be ending anytime soon.”

Former GOP Georgia Senator David Perdue – who was defeated by Democrat Jon Ossoff earlier this year – recently ruled out jumping into next year’s race.

But he says he will do everything he can to help the GOP defeat the Democrats in 2022.