What to Watch

November 9, 2020

Election 2020 goes on! We'll continue to keep you informed on the stories and trends to watch. Let us have your feedback at [email protected].

The presidential election is still not finished, and the fate of the Senate majority rests on two runoff elections in Georgia that will take place in January. We are not done yet; there is much yet to do.

But first let’s talk about what we’ve achieved so far.

Where We Did Well

• Thanks to the RJC’s deep investment in developing the most sophisticated, data-driven outreach operation in the Jewish community, President Donald Trump received 43% of the Jewish vote in the key battleground state of Florida. Nationwide, he received 30.5% of the Jewish vote, higher than any other GOP presidential candidate since 1988. That is to the credit of the RJC’s outreach efforts and the work of our terrific volunteers. We made history in this election – and set the standard for how get-out-the-vote efforts in the Jewish community will be done for years to come.
  
  
• Republicans have gained as many as eight seats in the US House, narrowing the Democrat majority significantly.
  
  
• Included in those gains are six House seats flipped blue-to-red by Republican women, including RJC PAC-endorsees Nancy Mace and Michelle Fischbach. Overall, the number of GOP women in the US House has nearly doubled, from 13 to 25. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a good friend of the RJC, led in recruiting and supporting more Republican women candidates, and her efforts really paid off.
  
  
• Democrats did poorly this year in state legislatures, which has long-term implications, as Politico reports:
  

  An abysmal showing by Democrats in state legislative races on Tuesday not only denied them victories in Sun Belt and Rust Belt states that would have positioned them to advance their policy agenda — it also put the party at a disadvantage ahead of the redistricting that will determine the balance of power for the next decade.…
  
  By Wednesday night, Democrats had not flipped a single statehouse chamber in its favor. And it remained completely blocked from the map-making process in several key states — including Texas, North Carolina and Florida, which could have a combined 82 congressional seats by 2022 — where the GOP retained control of the state legislatures.

What About President Trump?

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) put it well in a tweet: "The media do not get to determine who the president is. The people do. When all lawful votes have been counted, recounts finished, and allegations of fraud addressed, we will know who the winner is."

Right now, all of those tasks are in the hands of election officials, lawyers, and others with the duty and expertise to carry them out. We remain hopeful while their work continues.

We Must Keep the Senate Majority

Two runoff races for the Georgia Senate hold the key to keeping the GOP’s Senate majority. Here’s what you need to know:

Senator David Perdue (R-GA) beat his Democrat opponent, Jon Ossof, by 2% in the Georgia Senate race, but came up just short of the 50% of votes that Georgia requires, so he will be in a runoff election in January.

Senator Perdue's opponent has a long anti-Israel history. Ossof launched his political career working for one of the most anti-Israel members of Congress, Hank Johnson (D-GA). Johnson called Jews living in Israeli settlements "termites." 

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) fought hard in a wide field to make the runoff for the other Georgia Senate seat. Her race also ended with a very slim GOP lead, so it will go to a runoff.

Her opponent, Raphael Warnock, is also anti-Israel. He signed a letter likening the West Bank to apartheid South Africa, as the Jewish Insider reports. The letter also said that the security wall in Jerusalem, which has greatly reduced terrorist attacks against Jews in Jerusalem, is no different than the Berlin Wall constructed by communist East Germany.

The Georgia runoff races for the Senate seats of our friends David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler will have a huge impact on what happens in this country over the next four years.

The editors of the Wall Street Journal write: 

‘Now we take Georgia, then we change the world. Now we take Georgia, then we change America.” So declared an ebullient Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, on Saturday as he addressed supporters, and voters in Georgia should pay attention. The Peach State holds two Senate runoff races on Jan. 5, and how they turn out will determine whether Washington steers toward the center or sharply to the left.

… What difference would a single vote make? Republicans would lose their committee chairmanships and thus the power to serve as a check on the Biden Administration.

Here’s how you can help:

And note: Donation limits have reset for the runoff. Individuals can give up to $2,800, and couples can give up to $5,600 to each candidate, regardless of how much you gave during the general election.

We are developing volunteer opportunities for our members to help Senators Perdue and Loeffler keep their Senate seats. Watch your email for more information as it becomes available.

Norm Coleman: Democrats Created Process 'Ripe for Undermining Confidence' in Election

RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman talked to Breitbart News about the Jewish vote and about the veracity of US elections:

"Under the cover of COVID, we’ve made a lot of changes," Coleman remarked. "I want every American to have the opportunity [to vote], but I want it to be one person, one vote, and we put in a place a system that provides too many opportunities to people to do a lot of bad things and to change the outcome of an election."

Coleman continued, "I’ve watched this drama before. The other side is very good at this. On Election Day, they fight voter ID. In my case, I got 19 precincts in Minneapolis with more votes than voters, but if you have an accounting process that simply allows unlimited ballots to kind of come in without being checked, without being verified, without having timestamps, who knows what you get in the end?"