Trump Will Stay Out of Georgia For Runoff Election

Probably the right call.

Donald J. Trump will not cross the Florida state line to campaign with Herschel Walker during the final week of the Georgia Senate runoff election, after both camps decided the former president's appearance carried more political risks than rewards, campaign officials for the two Republicans said on Monday.

Instead of holding one of his signature campaign rallies, Mr. Trump is planning a call with supporters in the state and will continue sending online fund-raising pleas for Mr. Walker, two people with knowledge of the planning said.

The decision to keep Mr. Trump out of the spotlight was a response largely to the former president's political style and image, which can energize his core supporters but also motivate Democratic voters and turn off significant segments of moderate Republicans.

In Georgia, that political math has become a net deficit for Mr. Trump, who opened his 2024 presidential campaign two weeks ago. In 2020, he was the first Republican presidential candidate to lose the state in 28 years. Earlier this year, his handpicked primary challengers to Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were both trounced.

Mr. Trump also appeared to be a factor in the state's general election in November. Roughly one in three Georgia Republicans who voted said they were not supporters of Mr. Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement. Mr. Kemp won 90 percent of those voters while winning re-election by 7.5 points, according to the AP VoteCast survey of 2022 voters.

He "Truthed" this on Truth Social:

I agree with him that mail-in voting is steroids for voter fraud but this is not the moment to be suggesting that voting is futile in Georgia. I hope he's putting out more "Truths" encouraging people to vote to overcome possible Democrat fraud. Can anyone on Truth Social confirm?

posted by Ace at 05:09 PM

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