Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland is sounding the alarm on what it would mean if Democrats flip a pair of Senate seats in Georgia, urging voters to rally behind Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler as a way to thwart one-party rule in Washington.
Mr. Hogan says voters sent a clear message in the Nov. 3 election by sending presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden to the White House and delivering GOP scores of wins in down-ticket races.
“The result was a mandate for moderation and compromise — not for more gridlock, extremism, and dysfunction,” Mr. Hogan wrote in a Washington Examiner op-ed Monday.
Mr. Hogan has called on President Trump to concede as part of an aggressive push to raise his profile ahead of a possible White House bid in 2024.
Several possible 2024 GOP contenders — including Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas — have tested their political muscle in Georgia, campaigning in the state on behalf of the GOP senators.
Mr. Trump is slated to visit Georgia on Saturday.
In the op-ed, Mr. Hogan said the Jan. 5 runoff races in Georgia — where Mr. Perdue is facing off against Jon Ossoff and Ms. Loeffler is running against Raphael Warnock — will “determine what the first two years of President-elect Biden’s administration will look like.”
Democrats still will control the House next year, although their majority has been weakened.
Democrats must win both seats in Georgia to flip control of the Senate.
Mr. Biden’s victory there over Mr. Trump has given Democrats hope they can carry that momentum into the runoff races.
“Do we want a one-party monopoly in Washington, or do we want to send a message to our federal leaders that no one party has all the answers or all the power?” Mr. Hogan said. “Do we want two years of divisive, toxic battles over packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Senate filibuster, and pushing the Green New Deal, or do we want to take these destructive proposals off the table?”
“Do we want to unleash the extremes of both political parties, or do we want to empower leaders in Washington to find bipartisan, common-sense solutions to the challenges we face?” he said. “For the sake of our nation, I urge Georgians to uphold America’s mandate for moderation and compromise by voting to keep David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the U.S. Senate.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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