Georgia’s Governor and Senate Races Hinge on Election Day Turnout as Late Endorsements Intensify

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon stated that strong Election Day turnout, combined with a flurry of late endorsements from President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp, could determine the winners of Georgia’s GOP runoffs for governor and U.S. Senate.

McKoon noted that Republicans were watching two competitive statewide runoffs, with voters returning to the polls after no candidate secured a majority in last month’s primary elections.

“We have two very competitive elections for U.S. Senate and for governor here,” McKoon said.

In the Senate runoff, former college football coach Derek Dooley has the backing of Gov. Kemp, while Rep. Mike Collins received President Trump’s endorsement over the weekend.

“Gov. Kemp has endorsed former football coach Derek Dooley,” McKoon stated. “And of course, President Trump endorsed Congressman Collins over the weekend.”

McKoon said the timing of those endorsements could make Election Day turnout more important than early voting.

“We’ve got a big question today about what’s going to happen with the Election Day vote in Georgia,” he added.

According to McKoon, roughly 300,000 voters cast ballots during the weeklong early voting period. However, numbers available on Tuesday suggested over 350,000 voters could cast ballots on Election Day.

“It may be a tale of two separate elections,” McKoon said.

A similar dynamic is playing out in the Republican gubernatorial runoff, where Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, already endorsed by Trump, received a surprise endorsement from Kemp on Sunday. Jones faces businessman Rick Jackson.

“I think both of these races are going to be close,” McKoon stated. “But I think they’re going to come down to the Election Day voting because I think these endorsements are going to have an outside effect on that Election Day voting.”

The key question, he said, was whether the late endorsements would be enough to alter the outcome.

“The question we were asking earlier today: Would it be enough?” McKoon remarked. “It looks like it’s going to be quite a lot.”