Senator David Perdue (R-GA) reportedly warned GOP activists in a private phone call this week that the state of Georgia, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the senate since 2000, may help flip the Senate blue in the upcoming general election, during which both senate seats will be on the ballot.
The senator made the remarks on Monday to activists with “Women For Trump,” a conservative advocacy group that helps to promote the president’s agenda and elect Republican politicians, according to CNN.
While the conversation between the activists and the senator was purportedly off-the-record, either someone on the call or someone with access to the call recorded it. CNN does not disclose how they obtained the recording.
“Here’s the reality: The state of Georgia is in play,” Perdue said during the Monday phone call. “The Democrats have made it that way.”
“The demographic moves against us. But we can still win this if we get out and make sure that all of our voters vote. That’s what this comes down to,” said Perdue.
The senator’s office did not directly address the contents from the phone call, but told the news agency in a statement that the senator expects to be elected to a second term.
“From day one, our campaign has known that this will be a competitive race. With his strong record of proven results in the U.S. Senate, we are confident that Georgia voters will re-elect David Perdue this November,” said the senator’s office.
But the presence of a special election, which will decide who serves the remainder of former Senator Johnny Isakson’s term, means Republicans must defend two seats from Democratic challengers instead of just one.
The person who receives a majority of the votes in the special election, which has different candidates than the other senate ballot, will serve until 2022. If no candidate gains a majority of the vote, the election will move to a run-off, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the senate, and Democrats hold 45, not counting the two additional Independent senators who regularly caucus with Democrats.
Stacey Abrams, the failed 2018 gubernatorial candidate, declined to run against Perdue last April, despite saying that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had been relentlessly pursuing her, according to Buzzfeed News.
“He has been relentless but thoughtful, and I mean it in this way: He has asked me what I need to see,” said Abrams. “He’s answered the questions that I have about the role about how I would fit into a Senate, whether it’s the majority or the minority.”
Since declining the senate run, Abrams has been floated as a potential presidential candidate, but also declined to run. Her latest political endeavor has included openly campaigning for the vice presidential slot of the Democratic ticket as her own “hype-man.”
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