Warnock Says Schumer’s Name Not on Ballot as Georgia Runoff Enters National Spotlight

Warnock Says Schumer’s Name Not on Ballot as Georgia Runoff Enters National Spotlight
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock of Georgia speaks to supporters during a rally in Marietta, Ga. on Nov. 15, 2020. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
Isabel van Brugen
11/16/2020
Updated:
11/16/2020

Georgia’s upcoming runoff election in January is “about the people of Georgia” and not about regaining control of the Senate, Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock said on Sunday.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Warnock, who is aiming to unseat Georgia’s GOP senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue with Jon Ossoff in January, said that the race “is not about me” but about the people of Georgia.

Warnock, 51, then added, "Chuck Schumer’s name is certainly not on the ballot,” referring to last week’s remarks from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that Democrats would take Georgia and “change America.”

“I will tell you what is on the ballot,” he continued. “Health care is on the ballot—access to affordable health care. We have got 500,000 Georgians in the Medicaid gap. We have got 1.8 million Georgians with preexisting conditions.”

He later said that he was hopeful that once Georgians “hear about my commitment to access to affordable health care, the dignity of work, the work I have been doing for years, standing up for ordinary people, we will prevail come January 5.”

Should Democrats take the seats in the January runoff elections, they would have a 50-50 tie in the Senate, which would then make the winner of the presidential election the tiebreaker; either Vice President Mike Pence or Vice Presidential-hopeful Kamala Harris.

The winner of the presidential election has yet to be made official given unresolved legal challenges. The Epoch Times has not called the presidential election for either Trump or Biden, pending the outcome of legal challenges, as the Electoral College has the final say.

“I finished first, handily, far ahead of a candidate who is the wealthiest member of Congress, who poured millions of dollars into this race. And we finished in a strong position,” Warnock said Sunday, expressing optimism at his odds of a potential win.

On Wednesday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said the state of Georgia is crucial for Republicans to hold onto because if Democrats gain control of the Senate, they will implement their radical socialist agenda.

“I can’t overstate the importance of Georgia,” Kennedy told Fox’s “America’s Newsroom” on Wednesday.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about if they get control of the United States Senate, unless you believe in more freedom as opposed to more free stuff. And that is what is at stake and it is all hands on deck. The American people get to decide: are we going to live in a democracy or socialism,” Kennedy said.

“If Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer and Sen. Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win in Georgia, you’ve got nothing to worry about unless you are a taxpayer, a business owner, a parent, a cop, a gun owner, a person of faith, or an unborn baby.”

Masooma Haq contributed to this report.