Pence to campaign in Georgia with Loeffler and Perdue on Friday

Vice President Pence will campaign in Georgia on Friday alongside Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) ahead of a high stakes runoff election in January.

Pence will partake in a bus tour in the Peach State that includes two rallies. One will take place in Canton, which is located in conservative Cherokee County, and another will be held in Gainesville, which is located in conservative Hall County. Both events are billed as a “Defend the Majority Rally.”

The vice president’s travel will mark the first instance of the White House throwing its weight behind Perdue and Loeffler in the elections that will determine control of the U.S. Senate. Based on this month’s election results, Republicans will hold 50 seats to Democrats’ 48 seats in the next session of Congress.

Perdue will face Jon Ossoff (D), while Loeffler will be on the ballot against Rev. Raphael Warnock (D).

The runoff elections are scheduled for Jan. 5.

Republicans have been forced to navigate a rhetorical minefield in explaining the importance of the Georgia elections to supporters. Under the Biden administration, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote if Democrats win the two Georgia seats to make the Senate a 50-50 split.

But President Trump has refused to concede even though Joe Biden is projected to be president-elect, and most Republicans, including Loeffler and Perdue, have been careful not to say Biden has won. The Trump campaign has filed multiple lawsuits, including in Georgia, but they have either been dismissed or will not alter the results.

It’s unclear if Trump will visit Georgia at any point to boost the two senators. Other Republicans have already been making the rounds in the state, including Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rick Scott (Fla.).