GA Elections: Pastors Support Warnock, Few Polls, Dueling Rallies

GEORGIA — A group of Black pastors, mostly from the South, demanded in an open letter Saturday that U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler “cease and desist” characterizing her opponent Warnock as a “radical” or “socialist.”

“We see your attacks against Warnock as a broader attack against the Black Church and faith traditions for which we stand,” the letter said, as first reported by The New York Times and later by other media outlets.

Republican broadcast ads have focused largely on Warnock’s preaching as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, home to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The ads frequently target a sound clip from a 2011 sermon posted to YouTube in which Warnock said that “nobody can serve God and the military,” a phrase based on a theme from the Bible. Republican ads take the statement out of context to make Warnock — a man of the cloth and the son of a military veteran — look like he’s against both.

Warnock has pushed back repeatedly on the characterization, both in advertisements and in a Dec. 6 debate. Loeffler shot back twice during the debate that she was “not going to be lectured” on the Bible, citing Warnock’s pro-choice platform.

The Black pastors lectured her anyway.

“As the Georgia Senate race heats up and early voting begins, so does your naked hypocrisy and your blatant contradictions,” the pastors wrote to Loeffler. “We witnessed your naked hypocrisy as you supported 59 attempts at the delegitimization of Black voters with meaningless lawsuits by Trump campaign operatives."

The pastors also criticized Loeffler for her “disdain” for Black Lives Matters while staying silent about the activities of right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and Wolverine Watchmen.

Loeffler’s relationship with Black Lives Matter is complicated, to say the least. While Loeffler publicly has disparaged aspects of the movement, she also co-owns the Atlanta Dream women’s professional basketball team, which is largely composed of Black players who support Black Lives Matter. In August, players for the Dream and other WNBA teams thumbed their noses at Loeffler by wearing “Vote Warnock” t-shirts before their games.

Loeffler responded to the pastors' letter by pointing back at Warnock’s pro-choice stance. She also pointed in a tweet to Warnock having associated with controversial Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright, whose “God damn America” sound clip from a sermon is also showcased in Loeffler ads.

“Instead of playing the victim, start answering simple questions about what you’ve said and who you’ve associated yourself with,” Loeffler tweeted Sunday. “If you can’t — you shouldn’t be running for U.S. Senate.”

Loeffler herself came under fire for her associations when she was photographed at a Georgia rally with Chester Doles, a white supremacist with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Doles later told the Associated Press that he’s renounced racism. A spokesman for Loeffler said she didn’t know who Doles was when the photo was taken.

No one attacked the Black church. We simply exposed your record in your own words.

Instead of playing the victim, start answering simple questions about what you’ve said and who you’ve associated yourself with.

If you can’t — you shouldn’t be running for U.S. Senate. https://t.co/j06y2mwlCm
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) December 20, 2020

Who Will Win The Runoff? Don't Ask A Pollster.

Some of the best-regarded media and academic pollsters have told Politico they plan to sit out the Georgia runoff. Their reasons include lack of a market — political organizations are relying on polls less after they miscalculated the general-election results — and the difficulty of reaching poll subjects during the holidays.

“Should we just expect the Georgia polls to be right? I think that would be a little bit of a mistake,” Nick Gourevitch, a Democratic pollster, said to Politico. Although most polls are calling the runoff a toss-up, Gourevitch said that with President Donald Trump not on the ballot, there’s no way to predict what will happen. “It’s a completely unique situation,” he said.

VP-elect Harris, Ivanka Trump, Make Campaign Stops In Georgia

Announcing that “2020 ain’t over until Jan. 5,” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris rallied Monday in Columbus for Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and David Perdue. “We have the power to write the next chapter in American history,” she told the cheering crowd.

Harris headlined a socially distance drive-in rally held outside a former mill in her first visit to Georgia since President-elect Joe Biden won in November, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Harris originally was scheduled also to appear in Gwinnett County, but she canceled so she could be in Washington D.C. to vote on the coronavirus relief bill.

Ivanka Trump, campaigning for U.S. Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, cancelled her Suwanee rally as well so the two Republicans could also be in Washington D.C., according to The Gwinnett Daily Post. Trump still planned to visit Milton and Monroe.

One more heavy hitter was in Georgia over the weekend: On Sunday, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley rallied with U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in Augusta, Demorest and Evans.