Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) announced late Monday evening on the eve of her crucial Senate Runoff election her plans to formally object to the Electoral College certification process on Wednesday, joining a dozen of GOP Senators challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“I have an announcement in Georgia on January 6th. I will object to the Electoral College vote. We’re going to get this done all right,” Loeffler said after President Trump invited her to the stage Monday night during a campaign rally for the two senators in Dalton, Georgia.
“Look this president fought for us we’re fighting for him. He put America first. He put the American worker first. Thank you, Mr. President. He stood with our men and women of law enforcement. He restored our military,” she added.
The Georgia Senator joins a growing number of GOP senators who will challenge Biden’s victory from certain key battleground states when Congress meets Wednesday to formally ratify the Electoral College vote.
In a statement following her announcement at the Dalton rally, Loeffler said her vote would “give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process.”
“The American people deserve a platform in Congress, permitted under the Constitution, to have election issues presented so that they can be addressed,” Loeffler said in a statement. “That’s why, on January 6th, I will vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process. I have also already introduced legislation to establish a commission to investigate election irregularities and recommend election integrity measures, which I will be working to get passed in the Senate. We must restore trust, confidence, and integrity in our election system.”
My statement on the Electoral College Certification Process: https://t.co/ulTyeqbYzo pic.twitter.com/fbmB6lOdFo
— Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) January 4, 2021
Loeffler stated that she will launch an effort separate from the dozen of her fellow Republican senators led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) who have already launched a joint effort of challenging the results. Over 140 House Republicans have announced that they will also object to the certification.
Cruz on Saturday assembled a group of 11 Republican senators—Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; James Lankford of Oklahoma; Steve Daines of Montana; John Kennedy of Louisiana; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Mike Braun of Indiana; as well as Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Roger Marshall of Kansas; Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama— announcing that they would object to the certification of the Electoral College results unless there was an emergency 10-day audit of the results by an electoral commission.
Democratic Senate candidate and Loeffler opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock immediately seized on her rally remarks.
“Unelected Senator Kelly Loeffler wants to undermine your vote and overturn Georgia’s election,” Warnock tweeted late Monday. “Let’s show her that Georgia voters will not be silenced or ignored. Tomorrow, let’s vote her out.”
Loeffler was noncommittal over whether she would challenge Biden’s win during the joint congress session certification vote, leaving open the possibility of the right time to announce that she might object to the Electoral College results.
Before the Christmas break, Loeffler was asked about her plans to which she said, “Everything’s on the table right now. This President has fought for us, we’re fighting for him. We need to have free and fair elections,” she told reporters. “But we also need to make sure Georgians get out and vote on January 5.”
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) who’s running in the other Georgia crucial runoff which will exactly determine which party will control the Senate, told Fox Business on Sunday that while he can’t take part in Wednesday’s vote, he is “encouraging” his colleagues to object to the results. Since Perdue’s term expired on Sunday and the results of Tuesday’s runoff election might take days or weeks to certify, he won’t have a vote.
“I’m encouraging my colleagues to object. This is something that the American people demand right now,” he said. “There are huge irregularities in Georgia. They need to be investigated, and they need to be corrected, in my opinion.”
20202020 Election2020 Presidential RaceCertification VoteCongressElectoral CollegeElectoral VoteGeorgia Senate RunoffGOP SenatorsJoe BidenPresident TrumpRaphael WarnockSen. David PurdueSen. Kelly LoefflerSen. Ted CruzSenate
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