WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:04.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: We're now just days away from the final elections of the 2020 campaign, 00:04.900 --> 00:09.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% two critical run-offs in Georgia that will determine control of the U.S. Senate. 00:09.633 --> 00:13.766 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Today is the final day of in person early voting in the state, 00:13.766 --> 00:17.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and more than 2.8 million people have cast ballots so far. 00:17.633 --> 00:22.633 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% For an update on what's at stake, I'm joined by Stephen Fowler. He is a political reporter for 00:24.833 --> 00:27.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Georgia Public Broadcasting. He's also host of the "Battleground: Ballot Box" podcast. 00:28.900 --> 00:31.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Stephen Fowler, welcome to the "NewsHour." 00:31.933 --> 00:36.933 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% I guess the news today is that Senator David Perdue is quarantining after being exposed to 00:38.533 --> 00:42.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% COVID. Where does that leave this contest? 00:42.200 --> 00:45.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% STEPHEN FOWLER, Georgia Public Broadcasting: For the last several weeks, really, all of the 00:45.266 --> 00:50.233 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% candidates have been crisscrossing Georgia, trying to squeeze out every vote that they can get. 00:52.233 --> 00:54.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And David Perdue announced today that he -- one of his campaign staffers 00:54.933 --> 00:59.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% tested positive for COVID-19. He and his wife both tested negative today, 00:59.566 --> 01:03.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but, out of an abundance of caution, they are going to be quarantining. 01:03.133 --> 01:08.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now, the last day of early voting is today, and the next big day is Tuesday, January 5. 01:10.166 --> 01:14.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But the night before, Perdue and Senator Kelly Loeffler are supposed to headline at a big 01:16.133 --> 01:18.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% get-out-the-vote rally in Northwest Georgia headlined by President Donald Trump. 01:18.900 --> 01:23.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% It's unclear at this time whether David Perdue will be in attendance, 01:23.233 --> 01:28.233 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% but it's definitely something that you don't want to have happen days before the biggest election. 01:29.600 --> 01:31.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: No question, a complicating factor. 01:33.300 --> 01:37.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% President Trump, he has been critical of the governor of the state and others 01:38.500 --> 01:42.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% who didn't want to challenge the victory of Joe Biden in Georgia. 01:44.033 --> 01:48.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The two senators -- it's put the two senators, you were telling us, in very much of a box. 01:49.833 --> 01:51.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% How is that working? The president's been tweeting 01:53.100 --> 01:56.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% about Georgia. How do you see the president's role right now in this race? 01:56.700 --> 02:01.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% STEPHEN FOWLER: President Trump has put Perdue and Loeffler between a rock and a hard place. 02:01.233 --> 02:05.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% On the one hand, you have President Trump attacking Georgia's elections, 02:05.300 --> 02:09.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% attacking the Republican governor, the Republican secretary of state, and claiming 02:09.533 --> 02:14.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that the election was rigged and there was fraud and that people shouldn't trust the outcome. 02:16.466 --> 02:19.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% On the other hand, you have plenty of voters that are turned off by that kind of rhetoric 02:21.333 --> 02:23.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and are saying that they're going to stay home and 02:23.933 --> 02:27.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that they're not going to participate in this election or they're going to vote 02:27.633 --> 02:32.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for the Democrats because the Democrats aren't trying to undermine democracy. 02:32.333 --> 02:34.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% So, Perdue and Loeffler have been trying to 02:36.366 --> 02:38.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% make sure that they capture enough of Georgia's Republican base in this run-off 02:38.733 --> 02:43.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% by siding with the president and calling for our secretary of state to resign, 02:43.466 --> 02:48.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but, at the same time, they have to try to remember that Georgia is a very, very purple state 02:50.500 --> 02:54.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% right now, and they can't turn off those moderates by making false claims of election fraud. 02:56.433 --> 02:57.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And we have been reading about concern among Republicans about 02:57.933 --> 03:01.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% what the president's going to say when he is in Georgia. 03:01.766 --> 03:05.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But let's talk about the Democrats today. Big turnout, 03:07.300 --> 03:10.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% we have seen throughout the early voting period right up through 03:12.433 --> 03:15.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% today. What does that tell you in terms of these long lines, Stephen Fowler, and where they are? 03:17.866 --> 03:20.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% STEPHEN FOWLER: Well, Judy, there are three key constituencies to watch for in Georgia. 03:20.833 --> 03:25.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% One is what you're seeing right now in suburban Atlanta. Those are the voters that 03:27.833 --> 03:31.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% voted for Joe Biden in the presidential race that may end up still voting for Democrats 03:34.133 --> 03:37.500 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in this election. And Metro Atlanta is turning outs in full force. 03:38.933 --> 03:42.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Another one to watch is down in Southwest Georgia, 03:42.033 --> 03:45.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the Black Belt of Georgia, where there's a large African American Democratic population. 03:47.900 --> 03:51.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% They have been turning out in force as well, coming very close to the general election levels. 03:53.433 --> 03:56.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% In fact, some of the early voting data that I have looked at suggests that there are about 03:59.100 --> 04:02.466 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% 3 percent of the electorate is higher -- there's about 3 percent more African American percentage 04:04.466 --> 04:09.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of voters in this election than in the general election, which is a good sign for Democrats. 04:11.833 --> 04:15.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And the final one is up in Northwest Georgia, the Republican base, where turnout is lagging behind, 04:17.566 --> 04:21.166 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% and Republicans hope that a big Election Day surge can counteract this huge Democratic early vote. 04:23.100 --> 04:24.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And that's a challenge without President Trump on the ballot. 04:24.800 --> 04:27.366 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% STEPHEN FOWLER: That's right, without President Trump on the ballot, and 04:27.366 --> 04:32.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with President Trump saying don't trust absentee-by-mail voting or Georgia's election 04:34.233 --> 04:36.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% system and the voting machines, which are, frankly, the only two ways to vote. 04:36.133 --> 04:40.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: That coupled, as you say, with the remarkable turnout in communities 04:42.833 --> 04:46.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% where Black voters are turning out in large numbers is something everybody's watching. 04:48.733 --> 04:51.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% But, very quickly, Stephen Fowler, to what 04:51.466 --> 04:56.466 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% the candidates are saying. We have seen the Republican candidates going after the Democrats, 04:58.400 --> 05:00.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% calling them radical liberals. And we're seeing the Democrats push back. 05:00.533 --> 05:04.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Let's just listen to a short clip of each one, of each side. 05:04.500 --> 05:07.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): Radical liberal Raphael Warnock. 05:07.300 --> 05:09.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Radical liberal Raphael Warnock. 05:09.466 --> 05:11.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Radical liberal Raphael Warnock. 05:11.466 --> 05:13.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% From radical liberal Raphael Warnock. 05:13.466 --> 05:16.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JON OSSOFF (D), Georgia Senatorial Candidate: Hear's the bottom line, Kelly Loeffler 05:16.566 --> 05:21.566 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% has been campaigning with a Klansman. Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a Klansman. 05:24.666 --> 05:29.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And so she is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the 05:31.600 --> 05:34.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% fact that she has been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. 05:34.100 --> 05:37.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stephen Fowler, that comment yesterday from Jon Ossoff, 05:37.633 --> 05:41.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% who, of course, is running against David Perdue. The Kelly Loeffler 05:43.433 --> 05:47.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% comments which we put together were from a debate a few weeks ago. 05:47.633 --> 05:51.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But it gives you a sense of the flavor of this contest. 05:51.866 --> 05:56.866 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% STEPHEN FOWLER: The key to trying to define the opposition from both Democrats and Republicans 05:57.800 --> 06:00.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% is these short-and-sweet phrases. 06:00.166 --> 06:03.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% In the one debate David Perdue did conduct with Jon Ossoff, 06:03.933 --> 06:08.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he kept calling him and his radical socialist tendencies over and over again. 06:10.133 --> 06:13.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So the Republicans are trying to paint Ossoff and Warnock as these two extremely liberal, 06:15.200 --> 06:17.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% radical, out-of-touch politicians that aren't good for Georgia. 06:17.533 --> 06:21.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% And Ossoff and Warnock are trying to paint Perdue and Loeffler 06:21.233 --> 06:26.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% as crooks who don't have Georgia's best interests at heart and are out of touch with reality. 06:28.200 --> 06:31.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So, the key message also that we're seeing there are really resonating on both sides 06:33.700 --> 06:36.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with this turnout that we're seeing and with the closing messages of this campaign. 06:36.433 --> 06:40.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: You were telling us, Stephen Fowler, I mean, this is a state, of course, 06:40.433 --> 06:45.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Georgia has voted red, has sent mostly Republicans to Washington. 06:46.600 --> 06:48.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% So, for the Democrats to be holding their own 06:50.533 --> 06:53.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% at this point is somewhat remarkable in the state of Georgia, isn't it?? 06:53.233 --> 06:55.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% STEPHEN FOWLER: Well, to the outsiders, perhaps, 06:55.233 --> 06:59.700 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% but, in Georgia, for the last two years, it's been something building. 06:59.700 --> 07:02.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The demographics of Georgia have changed in the last decade .There have been 07:04.966 --> 07:08.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a million so voters that have come in Metro Atlanta alone, two million in the state overall. 07:10.766 --> 07:15.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And in the 2018 governor's race, where Stacey Abrams narrowly lost to Brian Kemp, 07:17.100 --> 07:20.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the Democrats invested in parts of the state that didn't normally get a lot of attention. 07:22.433 --> 07:24.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And they put grassroots campaigns and door-knocking and canvassing, 07:24.566 --> 07:29.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and slowly started to eat into the margins there, while ramping up operations in Metro Atlanta. 07:31.966 --> 07:35.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And that's only built up for the last two years, where you have got a competitive infrastructure, 07:36.866 --> 07:40.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and you have got Democrats showing up in force, and 07:40.033 --> 07:45.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ultimately putting about 12,000 votes ahead to give Joe Biden the electoral votes. 07:46.933 --> 07:50.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, it is a race, two races that the nation is watching very closely. 07:52.366 --> 07:56.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Stephen Fowler with Georgia Public Broadcasting, thank you so much. And happy new year. 07:56.100 --> 07:57.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% STEPHEN FOWLER: Thank you.