Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff has said he would welcome Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' campaigning support in Georgia ahead of the state's runoff elections as President Donald Trump prepares to visit later this week.
Ossoff, who is running against incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue, said the pair would be welcomed "with open arms"—though he appreciated that working on the transition process might prevent them from coming.
He previously said he would "look forward" to an opportunity of campaigning alongside Biden and Harris.
In regard to Trump visiting the state on Saturday, December 5, where he will campaign alongside Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Ossoff said he was unfazed in terms of this boosting the Republicans.
"As for President Trump, he's coming to Georgia empty-handed. I don't think he's bringing stimulus for families, I don't think he's bringing relief for small businesses," Ossoff said on MSNBC's The Last Word.
"He's just gonna come and spread COVID at one of his rallies. And, I'm not sure what they hope to achieve, it might rile up some of my opponent's supporters but it's also gonna energize democrats."
He previously said Democrats would be encouraged to "come out and make a statement continuing to reject his failed policies and his divisive and hateful politics," when commenting on Trump's visit in an interview with MSNBC's Politics Nation.
Trump's visit to the state comes as he continues to criticise the election process there, and while a second requested recount is underway after the original count and the first recount, conducted by hand, showed Biden to have won.
The president has continued to make attacks on the state's governor and secretary of state, both Republicans.
Amid his criticism of the process, some Republicans have questioned why they would vote for Perdue or Loeffler following Trump's allegations—suggesting they believe the system is "rigged."
Perdue and Loeffler have each welcomed Trump's plans to visit, with the president having spoken of hopes for a "tremendous crowd."
While Biden has not publicly detailed a visit to Georgia yet, Ron Klain, named as his chief of staff, previously told ABC News' This Week that he would "expect you'll see the president-elect travel down there before Election Day."
Klain said winning the seats in Georgia would be "important" and spoke of doing "everything we can to help those two candidates."
The runoff races have garnered a heightened focus due to their potential to impact control of the Senate. If the Democrats win both seats, the Senate would be split 50/50. In the event of a tiebreaking vote, this would then go down to the vice president.
Polling has shown the races to be tight, with the campaigns having spent major sums on ads and having accrued substantial fundraising hauls.
Newsweek has contacted Ossoff, Perdue and the Trump campaign for comment on the president's visit. The Biden transition team has also been reached for comment on the possibility of a visit to the state.
