President Trump will be campaigning in Georgia on Saturday ahead of the Senate runoff election in January, and Republicans say his appearance will help restore integrity in the election process.
Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Republican leadership in the upper chamber, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the president’s appearance in Georgia will help restore confidence in voters that the election system is secure.
Mr. Trump is expected to campaign for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, two Republicans hoping to keep their seats and retain control of the Senate.
“That will show more strength in the system,” Mr. Blunt said.
The Missouri Republican also defended Mr. Trump’s right to explore his legal options in alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, but Mr. Blunt noted that he himself hasn’t seen enough evidence of voter fraud to have changed the results.
“When this process is over, you come to a conclusion,” Mr. Blunt said. “There were some things done that shouldn’t have been done.”
The president lost the state to presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden by about .2% after a hand recount and officials in the state certifying the results roughly a week ago.
But Mr. Trump has continued to charge widespread voter fraud caused him to lose the reliably red state, among other battlegrounds, and he has launched a number of lawsuits across the country in an attempt to flip the outcome.
Ms. Loeffler and Mr. Perdue were forced into run-offs because they failed to capture 50% of the vote in their contests in November, according to Georgia state law. The run-off elections will take place Jan. 5.
Jon Ossoff, the Democratic candidate challenging Mr. Perdue, said his party was able to turn the red state to blue by registering more voters.
He told CNN voters in Georgia need to elect Democrats during the January contest, so Senate Republicans can’t obstruct a Biden-Harris administration.
The Rev. Raphael Warnock is the Democratic challenger for Ms. Loeffler’s seat.
Ms. Loeffler said that if Democrats get control of the Senate, they would “radically” change America.
She said Georgia has to be the “firewall to socialism,” and noted there will be a strong field operation in January to monitor and verify signatures in order to ensure the election process is secure and fair.
“We have to have integrity in our elections,” Ms. Loeffler told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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