WASHINGTON – The US midterm elections are over, with Democrats securing a majority in the Senate and Republicans flipping the House of Representatives. But one major race is yet to be decided.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat incumbent, and Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee, are set to face off in Georgia’s Senate runoff on December 6.
In 2020, Georgia decided the Senate majority in a double runoff that sent Warnock and Democrat Jon Ossoff to Washington, handing President Joe Biden a victory in both chambers of Congress.
This time, the Senate majority was already decided when Democrats flipped an open seat in Pennsylvania that was previously held by a Republican. Yet both sides are saying every seat matters.
JDCA urging support Senator Warnock
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) political action committee on Monday said it would spend $250,000 on two new ads targeting Jewish voters in Georgia, urging them to support Warnock in the runoff election.
“The 51st Senate seat matters,” JDCA CEO Halie Soifer said. “The past two years have demonstrated that having a 50-50 seat majority is simply not enough to pass legislation and continue to make progress. Democrats need that 51st seat to ensure we can continue to move forward, delivering for the American people.”
“There could not be a more acute distinction between two candidates than there is between Sen. Warnock, who shares our values and our commitment to democracy and support of Israel, and Herschel Walker, who is a pathological liar and a hypocrite who believes in election denialism and supports an abortion ban,” she said.
“This election, this runoff, like previous elections in Georgia, will be very close, and the Jewish vote will make the difference,” said Soifer. “So we’re targeting Jewish voters whom we know will show up to vote because they show up at higher rates. They will overwhelmingly support Warnock and that can make the difference.”
Sam Markstein, national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), rejected Soifer’s words.
“Raphael Warnock is too radical for Georgia, and the RJC is deploying our entire Victory Team to the Peach State to support Herschel Walker for US Senate,” he said.
“RJC volunteers are already conducting extensive Jewish grassroots outreach – making phone calls, knocking on doors, sending text messages – with an emphasis on the week of November 28, when early voting begins,” Markstein said. “Utilizing the most advanced, cutting-edge data operation in Jewish politics, RJC will be actively turning out Jewish voters for Herschel Walker and defeat Raphael Warnock – a rubber stamp for the disastrous Biden agenda that has resulted in skyrocketing costs of living, an unprecedented rise in crime and foreign policy that has abandoned Israel and emboldened Iran.”