GA-SEN 2020 Class III Megathread: She Who Loeffs Last

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/staceyabrams/status/1166732743562137603

I'm not surprised.  She clearly had her sights set on a rematch with Kemp in '22.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Wow, another pickup opportunity for Democrats! I think our chances at the Senate are slightly improved now, if still under 50%.

D odds of picking up the Senate in 2020 can't fail to be improved at least a bit.  Even if their odds of picking up this seat were only 1% (and of course they're much higher than that), it would be more than the 0% chance they'd have with no special election.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/HotlineJosh/status/1166812835265044481

If true, does this signal the guy maybe just a placeholder as opposed to someone planned to defend the seat as an incumbent.

When would this election be? If it is a special election rather than a regular 2020 election oh, wouldn't that significantly improve Republican chances considering the drop off and turn out Democrats will suffer?

It will be a jungle primary coincident with the regular November general election.  If nobody gets a majority, a runoff will be held in January 2021.

It will be fun if control of the Senate hinges on a Georgia runoff, or maybe even two Georgia runoffs.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Gov. Kemp is now taking job applications for the appointment to the seat.

Apparently, it's all about transparency.

https://twitter.com/GovKemp/status/1174070474051112961
Make of that what you will. I wonder if there will be televised job interviews for the finalists, that would be something.

I wonder if someone who lives in Georgia and is on atlas will sign up because why not.

Adam Griffin would be perfect, but I don't think he'd downgrade from President to Senate.

I'd vote for him.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It's looking like the jungle primary will stay.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/DKElections/status/1225497393963175938

[GeorgiaModerate]

Collins taking shots at one of Loeffler's ads:

https://twitter.com/CollinsforGA/status/1229563539007922176

It's been pointed out in local media that Loeffler doesn't have (and has never had) a Georgia hunting license.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Collins has already said he'll turn down the intelligence job.  (The jokes write themselves.)

[GeorgiaModerate]

I wonder what Collins's internals look like

There's another mental image I could have done without.

[GeorgiaModerate]

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond will NOT enter the Senate race: https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/the-jolt-michael-thurmond-will-seek-election-dekalb-ceo-forgoing-senate-bid/Ra2Y0oTaBkSxXFsXsnuLaK/.  Thurmond would have been a significant challenger for the Democratic nomination.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/RepDougCollins/status/1237096863624507398

[GeorgiaModerate]

Wouldn't be surprised if she's forced to drop out after this

I'll be contacting her office tomorrow demanding her resignation, and encourage all the other Georgians here to do the same (and tell your friends!)

[GeorgiaModerate]

I just tried to call her DC and Atl offices. The DC line was busy and the the ATL one sent me to voicemail. I guess a lot of people are calling.

Same.  Her web contact form is at https://www.loeffler.senate.gov/connect/email-kelly.  I've used this in the past and know they do read it.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/CollinsforGA/status/1240985548501716992?s=20

I've had the embarrassment of Collins being my representative for the past 8 years, but at this point I'd vote for him over Loeffler if they were the only two choices (thankfully, they aren't).

[GeorgiaModerate]

Loeffler reports more stock sales amid insider trading allegations

The largest transactions — and the most politically problematic — involve $18.7 million in sales of Intercontinental Exchange stock in three separate deals dated Feb. 26 and March 11. Loeffler is a former executive with ICE, and her husband, Jeff Sprecher, is the CEO of the company, which owns the New York Stock Exchange among other financial marketplaces. During the same time period reflected on reports filed late Tuesday, the couple also sold shares in retail stores such as Lululemon and T.J. Maxx and invested in a company that makes COVID-19 protective garments.

[GeorgiaModerate]

On March 20 I contacted Loeffler's office via their web contact page (since their phones were tied up), urging her to resign.

Today I got an email response.  It begins:

"Dear Mr. ______,

          Thank you for contacting me about the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump. It is an honor to serve as Senator for the people of Georgia, and I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you on this important issue."

Words fail me.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The crazy thing is that this is absolutely a minuscule percentage of her net worth. To use round numbers, let’s say she’s worth $500m and sold $4m worth of stock. That’s .08% and not even accounting for the fact that her husband is also worth somewhere in the $500m ballpark.  $4m sounds like a lot to us plebes but when you’re worth this much, it’s a rounding error. She’s gonna lose a senate seat for something she did three weeks in and is looking at prison time over a f**king rounding error.

Edit: She sold $19m so it’s .38% but my larger point still stands.

(puts on math pedant hat)

Check your decimal places.    $19m is 3.8% of $500m (and $4m is 0.8%).

[GeorgiaModerate]

Over/under on Loeffler's percentage in the jungle primary?  I'll go with 15.

[GeorgiaModerate]

On March 20 I contacted Loeffler's office via their web contact page (since their phones were tied up), urging her to resign.

Today I got an email response.  It begins:

"Dear Mr. ______,

          Thank you for contacting me about the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump. It is an honor to serve as Senator for the people of Georgia, and I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you on this important issue."

Words fail me.

So today I got another email from Loeffler's office claiming to be a response (its subject is "Responding to your message").  This one is an apparent form letter talking about how great her response has been to the virus.  There's no mention of her stock trades or my strongly-worded request for her resignation.  The tone-deafness is appalling.

[GeorgiaModerate]

What are the chances that Doug Collins doesn’t make it to the runoff? That would be funny if he placed third in the jungle primary.

Negligible.  He's likely to finish first and end up in a runoff with Warnock.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Warnock still a decent recruit or did the car scandal ruin him?

I don't think it's gotten much traction.

[GeorgiaModerate]

U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler granted an interview to a TV pundit associated with white supremacy and Nazism.

The interview aired on One America News Network on Thursday and Loeffler promoted it heavily on her Facebook and Twitter accounts Friday, tagging the controversial host.

“I joined @JackPosobiec on @OANN to discuss why I had to call out the BLM political organization — and why the woke mob is trying to cancel me,” she wrote in one tweet. “WATCH the full interview here.”

https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/kelly-loeffler-takes-blm-criticism-to-host-with-white-supremacist-ties/YFGCMWR3DJD3RCLGFSAK3BXVGE/

[GeorgiaModerate]

I got a text today inviting me to vote in a poll where the choices were Collins, Loeffler, and Not Sure.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/Nate_Cohn/status/1308105254668468224

[GeorgiaModerate]

If both races go to a runoff, would the two seats stay vacant at the start of the 117th Congress? And when would the winner be sworn in?

Yes, and as soon as possible after the results were certified.

EDIT: it was pointed out downthread that Loeffler's term does not expire on Jan. 3.  So the situation is:

Perdue's seat would be vacant between Jan. 3 and the time the runoff results are certified, but Loeffler would remain in hers.

Both winners would be seated once the runoff results are certified.