David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler Hint at Georgia Dispute, Echo Trump's 'Legal Vote' Tagline

Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have called for every "legal vote" to be counted as they reject the notion of defeat in Georgia, in sentiments reminiscent of President Donald Trump's refusal to accept Joe Biden's victory.

Raphael Warnock has been projected the winner over Loeffler by several news organizations, while Jon Ossoff's campaign has said he anticipates he will beat Perdue. While the Democrats have voiced their confidence, the incumbents have pushed back and suggested they each have routes to victory.

Perdue's campaign, in a statement released after Ossoff's campaign manager said they anticipated the Democrat had won, said: "As we've said repeatedly over the last several weeks and as recently as this evening, this is an exceptionally close election that will require time and transparency to be certain the results are fair and accurate and the voices of Georgians are heard.

"We will mobilize every available resource and exhaust every legal recourse to ensure all legally cast ballots are properly counted. We believe in the end, Senator Perdue will be victorious."

Loeffler similarly said that "every legal vote will be counted and I am not going to stop working."

"We have got a lot of work to do here, this is a game of inches, we are going to win this election, we are going to save this country," she said. At the time she said there was a "path to victory."

The pair have both backed Trump in his push against the election outcome and their comments on legal votes strike a familiar tone to that of the commander-in-chief in his own election rejection push. He and allies have pushed claims of irregularities, with Georgia a focal point of such allegations, in the presidential election—though there has not been evidence of such claims on a scale which would alter its outcome.

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and attorney to Trump, and Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement in December its strategy was "focused on ensuring that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is not."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made similar comments on every "legal vote" being counted. First lady Melania Trump also tweeted after the election that: "Every legal - not illegal - vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency."

Trump continued to attack election officials in Georgia up to the runoff elections, with polling indicating Republicans were not convinced these would be conducted in a fair manner.

Newsweek has contacted Perdue and Loeffler's campaigns for further comment and asked for specific details of any action they might intend to take.