Biden urges Georgians to vote for Democratic 'doers' in Senate runoff

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- President-elect Joe Biden traveled to Atlanta on Tuesday, pushing Georgia Democrats to vote in next month's Senate runoffs by highlighting the importance of evening the partisan split in the chamber.

During the drive-in rally at Pratt-Pullman Yard in the Kirkwood neighborhood, Biden characterized Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock as allies who will help to implement his policy plans.

"I need two senators from this state who want to get something done, not two senators who are just going to get in the way," he said comparing the Democratic candidates to their Republican opponents. "Are you ready to vote for two senators who are doers and not road-blocks?"

Biden's stop came as early voting for the election began Monday, pitting Ossof and Warnock against Republican incumbents Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

Majority control of the Senate is at stake in the runoff -- if Democrats win both races, the chamber will have a 50-50 split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris acting as a tie-breaker. If Republicans win one or both races, they will maintain control of the Senate.

Biden said that Ossof and Warnock would support a COVID-19 stimulus package that will provide funding for state and local governments -- which many Republicans have opposed -- and support other efforts from his administration addressing racial injustice and climate change.

"There's so much more we can get done," Biden said.

Republican Sen. David Perdue had a 1.8% lead over Ossoff in the Nov. 3 election, but didn't earn more than 50% of the votes, which was needed to win the race outright. Meanwhile, in the special Senate election, Warnock had 32.9% of the vote and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler had 25.9% -- and again, neither had a majority.

Biden on Tuesday also criticized the two Republican senators for backing a Texas lawsuit seeking to block the certification of his election win in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"Maybe your senators were just confused. Maybe they think they represent Texas. Well, if you want to do the bidding of Texas, you should be running in Texas! Not in Georgia. Because you know what? You've got a couple of folks running for the United States Senate in this state who aren't confused at all," he said.