If you stand close enough to someone in the spotlight, that light is probably also shining on you. As Georgia plays host to a pair of simultaneous Senate runoffs – with stakes as high as any non-presidential election can get – a host of politicians (and non-politicians) looking to boost their profiles may be parading through over the next few weeks.
Before Georgia had even certified the November election results, Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue had already started campaigning for their respective runoffs on January 5 and with some Senate colleagues tagging along. The two are somewhat campaigning jointly, pooling resources and rallies, and mailers from the Georgia Republican party are featuring both candidates.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made an appearance at the first official Republican rally in Cobb County, one of the metro Atlanta counties won by Joe Biden with 56% of the vote in the presidential race (and which also elected a Democratic sheriff and County Commission Chair) but where Rubio performed well in the 2016 primary. The county has shifted blue during President Trump’s term but Republicans are hoping that a turnout push and flipping back some Republican voters that may have turned blue this cycle can push the county back to Republican in the January runoff.
Rubio’s Florida counterpart, Sen. Rick Scott made an appearance in Forsyth County just a couple days later (a few days prior to testing positive for the coronavirus). Scott urged attendees to vote as soon as they could and reminded the audience of some of the issues on the table. Scott has not necessarily hinted at a 2024 but he paid for a television ad in Iowa earlier this year defending the president and attacking Joe Biden. It was a nice gesture on his part for Iowa Republicans, but Iowa is not generally a big enough worry for a Senator 1,000 miles away to run television ads – unless maybe they’re thinking about something else?
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton was next up on the list, appearing in Perry at the Georgia National Fairgrounds. The former Marine got a strong ovation from the crowd in attendance. Cotton noted his experience in visiting Georgia, part of which was a stint at Fort Benning but also included campaigning in October ahead of the general election. Cotton is a very likely candidate for 2024, with his military background, ability to discuss Republican issues and closeness to the Trump agenda all points in his favor ahead of the primary.
And there’s plenty going on besides personal appearances. Sen. Joni Ernst from Iowa – herself someone that was rumored to be upset by a Democratic opponent to only end up winning by 6.6% – has penned a piece for Fox News advocating for Georgia’s Republicans, touting the candidates backgrounds and her experience with them in the Senate. Senators Ted Cruz from Texas and Josh Hawley from Missouri have been sending fundraising emails and talking up the race on cable news – two others strongly rumored for 2024.
There may be many more officeholders that find their way to Georgia after Thanksgiving. The biggest question that remains is whether we might see a rally from another big possible candidate for 2024, Donald Trump.
