They drove for hours to see Donald Trump this past weekend, then lined up for hours more, wearing Trump caps and T-shirts, chanting Trump chants, jeering various Trump’s nemeses, and seething over an election they still insist was stolen from Trump.
The decisions made by this same group of Georgia voters over the next few weeks could shape the course of American politics for the next few years.
A pair of Jan. 5 elections in this state will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, with registration closing Monday, and advance voting beginning next week.
To hold the chamber, Republicans must win one of these two races; the outcome will affect future president Joe Biden’s ability to confirm judges, appoint cabinet members and sign legislation.
The concern for Republicans: Will these voters show up?
The party’s fortunes depend on turnout from what might be described as “Trump First” voters, those diehard supporters currently fuming at anybody they see as insufficiently loyal to the president.
What has party brass concerned: the possibility these voters might stay home after the presidential election, disillusioned by Republican officials’ refusal to help Trump overturn the result.
Pete Toole dislikes most politicians except Trump. He still intends to vote in the Senate runoffs. (Alexander Panetta/CBC)
The weekend rally in Georgia allowed for a timely temperature-taking of this powerful slice of the electorate.
Very few people had signs for Republican senators Kelly Loeffler or David Perdue at the event, even though their re-election campaign was ostensibly the reason Trump flew in for an airport runway rally.
When Loeffler and Perdue spoke, the crowd drowned them out with chants about the president like, “Stop the steal!” and, “Fight for Trump,” a chorus of thousands of people making clear what truly stirs their political passions.
Angry over Trump’s loss
Seated in the crowd, Pete Toole said he dislikes most politicians — that includes all Democrats and most Republicans.
The one Republican he truly adores is Trump. And what matters to him right now is getting the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election result.
He’s not sure how, or on the basis of what legal arguments or evidence any of that could happen, but the retired grocer from the small town of Uvalda, Ga., just can’t believe his man truly lost.
The current Senate breakdown is 50 Republican votes and 48 votes from Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. If Democrats win both in Georgia, the parties would be tied and future VP Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaking vote. (CBC News)
He thinks other Republicans should be doing more to help Trump stay in office, and his disdain extends to the two Republican Senate candidates who were on that stage.
“I’m not a Republican or a Democrat. I’m for Trump,” Toole said. “I don’t like [Republican senators Kelly] Loeffler or [David] Perdue.”
Loeffler and Perdue are seeking re-election against Raphael Warnock, who is a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. was co-pastor with his father, and Jon Ossoff, a former congressional staffer.
Toole sees his party’s candidates as weak and mealy-mouthed and said they need to be tough like Trump. When asked how, specifically, they should model their behaviour on the president’s, he replied: “On everything. They should have his personality. Speak their mind.”
So what’s the bottom line — will he turn out for the Senate runoffs or not? “I’m going to vote probably for Loeffler and Perdue.”
The reason: to stop the left from gaining power.
WATCH | Could Trump’s fraud claims could keep Georgia voters home for runoff?:
U.S. President Donald Trump spent some of the weekend trying to rally support for Republican Senate candidates in Georgia, but there are concerns his continued denouncement of the electoral system could convince voters to stay home. 2:03
Trump lawyers urge boycott
And that was the main takeaway from the vast majority of those interviewed at the rally by CBC News and other media during the weekend event.
Most said that even if the presidential race mattered most to them, and even if they’re unenthused by most Republicans, they would still turn out and cast ballots to help their party keep the Senate.
The Senate candidates in Georgia. Top from left: Republican incumbents David Perdue, and Kelly Loeffler. Bottom, from left: Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. (CBC)
There were exceptions.
Lauren Voyles, who made a five-hour drive from north of Atlanta for the event, said she has lost faith in the electoral system. She thinks the vote was rigged against the president, despite the lack of evidence of electoral fraud.
She singled out the so-called crooks, and the “fake-news media” and what she sees as the weak-kneed Republican establishment not fighting hard enough to keep Trump in the White House.
When asked if she’ll vote in the Senate race she said: “Not in the current system — why would I?”
That dismissive attitude was echoed by angry Republicans who at a recent event shouted down the party chair, and by pro-Trump lawyers who urged a boycott of Senate races as a protest against a party establishment they deride as disloyal to the president.
Stakes high for Democrats,too
Such talk is sweet music to Democrats’ ears.
One Democrat who lives several hours north raised her hands in pretend prayer when asked if she expected rifts on the right to depress Republican turnout.
Latresha Jackson, a volunteer with the Democratic Party near Atlanta, said her party badly wants those two seats, which would result in a 50-50 Senate tie and allow vice-president-elect Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes.
“Democrats understand what’s on the line,” Jackson said, speaking at her home in Forsyth County.
The head of the Democratic Party in that same county, Melissa Clink, said the party that retains the Senate doesn’t just win more votes — its leadership controls the chamber agenda and decides which bills come up for a vote.
Melissa Clink, the chair of a Democratic county branch near Atlanta, says these races will determine what gets discussed in the Senate. (Alexander Panetta)
All of which holds potential consequences on issues such as health care, climate change, infrastructure and immigration policy.
“Two years of gridlock” is how Clink described a Senate led by Mitch McConnell. “Right now, [McConnell is] the gatekeeper of what we even speak about on the floor.”
Her county branch began dropping off promotional flyers last weekend for the Jan. 5 vote, and progressive groups have mailed out applications for absentee ballots.
Democrats must win both seats
Democrats, however, have a taller hill to climb.
While some recent polling gives Democrats an edge in what will likely be two close races, history and math are on the Republican side.
For starters, Republicans only need to win one race to retain the advantage; Democrats need both. In addition, Republicans have a history of stronger turnout in runoff elections like these ones, which in Georgia are held after a general election when there are multiple candidates and nobody surpasses 50 per cent.
In the last such runoff, in 2018, the Republican candidate for secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, expanded his wafer-thin general-election lead by more than 3 percentage points in the runoff.
That’s the same Brad Raffensperger who is now receiving death threats because he’s in charge of running Georgia’s elections, and he’s refusing to help Trump overturn the result.
The answer to the Democrat voter fraud is not to stay at home – that’s what Pelosi and Schumer want you to do. If you want revenge on the Democrats for their efforts to steal the Presidential election, where we are fighting hard, you have to show up and vote in RECORD numbers! <a href=”https://t.co/XAJ0F2JmeL”>pic.twitter.com/XAJ0F2JmeL</a>
Republican strategy: keep Trump in the conversation
After the weekend Trump rally, it’s now crystal-clear what the Republican strategy is in its effort to ensure turnout from Trump supporters.
They’re keeping Trump in the conversation.
Several speakers at the weekend rally cast this Senate vote as a chance to cement the president’s legacy and protect it from Democrats who would undo his tax, energy, climate, and other policies.
“Don’t let them take [that legacy] away,” said Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia governor, current Trump cabinet member, and cousin to one Republican candidate, Sen. David Perdue.
At a rally in Valdosta, Ga., Trump mostly talked about his own achievements and grievances, but also urged Georgians to vote. (Alexander Panetta)
Trump, for his part, delivered a long speech with three basic themes.
First, he encouraged Republicans to turn out. He called this vote the most important congressional runoff in history, and lauded the two Senate candidates.
Second, he trashed other Georgia Republicans. The bulk of Trump’s speech consisted of grievances about the election, and complaints about the governor, who has refused to help him overturn the result.
Finally, he also gave what sounded like a valedictory address. Trump concluded the speech by listing things his presidency achieved, from tax cuts to moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump urged Georgians to cement that legacy by turning out for the Perdue and Loeffler: “These seats are the last line of defence to save America and protect all that we have accomplished.”
Not that Trump will ever admit defeat.
Bob Kunst (Alexander Panetta/CBC)
Heated rhetoric
Nor will his supporters. They aren’t just grumbling about an election loss; a large number appear to deeply believe he was robbed, based on a litany of unproven or disputed allegations now repeatedly dismissed in court.
They’re livid at the media for reporting he lost. A few screamed at a Fox News crew, while several shouted epithets at the media bus leaving the rally.
Bob Kunst, who drove up from Miami for what he said was his 201st Trump-related event, said Republicans plan to unseat, in future primaries, anyone who fails to help Trump hold onto power.
Some of the rhetoric, he said, is getting even more heated.
“This is like civil-war time,” he said. “I am the most mild-mannered person. But I am way angry. … I’ve had people here tell me they’re armed to the teeth.”
Erick Erickson, a Georgia-based talk-show host, (Submitted by Erick Erickson)
Yet he still cares about the Senate and wants Republicans to win. “They have to,” Kunst said.
Erick Erickson, a Georgia-based conservative radio show host who’s been lukewarm on Trump — initially opposing him, then backing him, and often criticizing him — says he expects the party to unite for the Senate races.
Erickson said a number of Republicans do care first and foremost about Trump but that there’s also been a swift backlash to the talk about a boycott, and he expects Republicans will show up.
He said history has also shown Georgia Republicans do turn out in non-presidential races, as they did in the 2018 midterm year.
“I think the GOP goes two for two [in the Senate races],” Erickson said in an interview outside his Atlanta studio.
“But it’s gonna be a slugfest. Those of us in TV and radio — we’re gonna come out the winners in this. … It’s going to be close. Maybe closer than it should be.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
