CNN: “It’s a scenario that GOP leaders have been privately fearing for months — and one they had sought to avoid at the beginning of the year. In private, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had counseled his top lieutenants and even President Trump to ensure the party would unite behind one candidate and avoid a messy internecine battle that could imperil the crucial Senate seat.”
“The race presents challenges unlike any other in the country. Since it’s a special election, there is no primary. So to win the November election outright, a candidate must surpass 50% of the vote; if not, the top two candidates face off in a January runoff. Since it’s unlikely that any candidate will reach the 50 percent threshold, both [Rep. Doug] Collins and [Sen. Kelly] Loeffler have been competing intensely to make the runoff by wooing Republican voters and appealing to the conservative base, which represents a slice of the state’s 6.9 million registered voters.”
“That has created an opening for the leading Democratic candidate, Rev. Raphael Warnock, who has been mostly unscathed amid the daily slugfest between Collins and Loeffler, and was rewarded with a Friday fundraiser led by former President Barack Obama.”
