Warnock says he needs to win ‘by comfortable margin’ because ‘funny things go on’

Democratic Georgia Senate candidate the Rev. Raphael Warnock urged voters to turn out in large numbers in the state’s runoff election on Tuesday, warning that a slim margin could allow Republicans more room to contest the results. 

“We need to win by a comfortable margin because, you know, funny things go on,” Warnock told a crowd at a drive-in rally in Riverdale, Ga., on Monday. 

The Democrat slammed President Trump for pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” votes that would overturn his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the Peach State.

The Washington Post on Sunday released an hourlong recording of Trump speaking with Raffensperger, telling him to come up with the “11,780 votes” needed to flip the state back to red. Raffensperger repeatedly pushed back on Trump during the phone call, saying Georgia’s presidential election had been legitimate and fair.

Warnock also took the opportunity to hit South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), a staunch Trump ally, for allegedly suggesting in a call with Raffensperger last year that he should throw out legally cast ballots. Graham has called Raffensperger’s characterization of the conversation “ridiculous.” 

“What they were saying, in essence, is, ‘don’t you know how we roll?'” Warnock said. 

“I don’t want you to focus on them because the man who was on the phone on Saturday, he’s already on his way out whether he knows it or not,” he added, referring to Trump, before hitting Republican Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue for being complacent over the president’s calls to reverse the election outcome in the state

“What you really oughtta be concerned about is that you have two sitting United States senators who are not standing up for the voters of Georgia and saying when the voters speak we ought to respect what the voters say even if we don’t like the outcome,” he said.

Warnock will go head-to-head with Loeffler in the runoff election on Tuesday. His race, along with fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff’s against Perdue, will ultimately decide which party controls the Senate. 

Neither Loeffler nor Warnock were able to reach the 50 percent voter threshold needed to win the election in November. Warnock benefited from the fact that two Republicans — Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins (Ga.) — were on the ballot in his race.

However, polls show razor-thin margins a day before the vote. The latest RealClearPolitics polling average shows Warnock leading Loeffler by just 1.8 percentage points.