Ad featuring Trump’s son is latest Republican effort to boost Georgia election turnout
A new ad featuring the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., emphasizing support for gun rights is the latest effort by Republicans to increase voter turnout in the homestretch to Georgia’s runoff election.
The advertisement will run statewide from Thursday through the Jan. 5 election on cable and digital platforms. It is the latest effort from Save the US Senate, a political action committee founded by Trump Jr. advisers Taylor Budowich and Andy Surabian, to turn out voters who supported President Donald Trump in the November election.
Save the US Senate expects to put a mid six-figures behind the new Trump Jr. advertisement in support of Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. They are competing against Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the runoff election that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
In a statement on the ad, Surabian urged Trump supporters, who Republicans worry may stay home amid feuding between the president and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, to vote in the election.
“Unlike Warnock and Ossoff, Senators Loeffler and Perdue are strong pro-Trump Senators, who will protect our 2nd Amendment rights and continue fighting for the President’s America First agenda in Washington,” Surabian said.
In the advertisement, Trump Jr. encourages Georgians to vote for Republicans in the runoff. He does not mention his family or his father.
“When it comes to the Second Amendment, the choice for the U.S. Senate couldn’t be clearer,” Trump Jr. says. “Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff both have F ratings from the NRA. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are endorsed by the NRA for a reason. They’ll protect your right to defend yourself, and your family. Save America, save the Senate, vote for Loeffler and Perdue.”
Spokespersons for Ossoff’s and Warnock’s campaigns declined to comment.
Ossoff on his campaign website says he supports the Second Amendment and lists reforms he says would reduce injuries and deaths from firearms, including “universal criminal history checks” and bans on the sales of high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic rifles. The Democrat states plainly that he has not taken any money from organizations that support expanded access to firearms.
In the issues section of Warnock’s campaign website, the Democratic candidate vows to “reduce senseless gun violence” and does not provide further details on his position.
Save the US Senate PAC has funded other advertisements in Georgia that feature Trump Jr. leading up to the runoff election and last week spent $200,000 on mail pieces with the younger Trump’s image that promote Loeffler and Perdue as “pro-Trump Republicans.”
Trump Jr. is expected to visit Georgia at least one more time before the election to boost Loeffler and Perdue. President Trump will also hold a rally on the eve of the election in the northwest part of the state, an area that has Republicans concerned because their supporters are not participating in early voting in large enough numbers.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Ad featuring Trump’s son is latest Republican effort to boost Georgia election turnout."
