At pro-trump ga. Rally, lawyer says don't vote gop sens. In 'rigged' runoff

At pro-trump ga. Rally, lawyer says don't vote gop sens. In 'rigged' runoff

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At a "Stop the Steal" rally in Georgia on Wednesday, attorney Lin Wood encouraged supporters of President Donald Trump not to vote for Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David


Perdue in the state's upcoming runoff elections. The two crucial Georgia runoff elections—which will be held on January 5 with early voting starting December 14—will determine control


of the Senate, meaning President-elect Joe Biden's ability to push through his agenda. Democrats, who narrowly control the House, need to win both seats for a 50-50 split. In that


scenario, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote. Recent election boycott calls driven by Trump supporters, inspired by the president's allegations of widespread


voter fraud, could hinder the GOP's chances of retaining their majority in the upper chamber. During the pro-Trump protest rally, Wood said to the crowd, "Where's Kelly


Loeffler? Where's David Perdue? They outta be standing right here." "They have not earned your vote," he said. "Don't you give it to them. Why would you go back


and vote in another rigged election for god's sake! Fix it! You gotta fix it!" Most media outlets and news stations called the election for Biden three weeks ago. With 306


Electoral College votes, the Democrat has surpassed the 270 needed to win, but Trump has refused to concede. Over the past month, the president has repeatedly alleged that widespread voter


fraud cost him the election while filing nearly 3 dozen lawsuits in swing states seeking to overturn his loss to Biden. The contents and claims of the suits have been narrower than


Trump's public claims of a stolen election, and so far, routinely tossed out of court. Wood's remarks come after some pro-Trump Republicans took to Parler, the "free


speech" social media network, to encourage members of their own party to sit out the Georgia runoffs. Some users cited conspiracy theories about "rigged" ballot machines to


justify their decision. "Don't vote! Don't be part of the corruption" one post read. Another post read: "DO NOT VOTE IN THE GEORGIA RUNOFFS, THE DEEP STATE WILL BE


COLLECTING EVERYONE'S INFO. THIS IS A CHARADE, MEANT TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE WHO DON'T VOTE DEMOCRAT. STAY HOME. OSSOFF AND WARNOCK ARE A SMALL PRICE TO PAY." As his supporters


threatened a boycott, Trump on Thanksgiving Day said he will travel to Georgia to campaign for Loeffler and Perdue. "Maybe I'll go twice," he said, before a White House


spokesperson confirmed that the president will visit on December 5. _Newsweek_ reached out to the Georgia Republican Party for comment.