Both GOP Senators in Georgia Runoffs Are Self-Isolating
The senator has no symptoms and will remain in quarantine until retesting is conclusive.
(Bloomberg) -- Both Republicans involved in run-off elections in Georgia to decide control of the U.S. Senate are self-isolating at home after one, Senator Kelly Loeffler, may have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Loeffler’s latest Covid-19 test, done Saturday night, came back negative, her campaign said on Sunday. She’ll continue to isolate and will be tested again.
“Out of an abundance of caution, she will continue to self-isolate and be retested again to hopefully receive consecutive negative test results,” Loeffler campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson said in a statement.
Late Saturday, Loeffler’s campaign said she’d had a positive test followed by an inconclusive result. Senator David Perdue will remain home for now until Loeffler receives confirmation of her results, spokeswoman Casey Black said Sunday.
Loeffler and Perdue are in head-to-head matchups against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively, on Jan. 5 after no candidate reached 50% of the vote in the Nov. 3 election.
The unusual instance of two senate elections in the same state comes after Loeffler, 49, was appointed in January by Georgia’s governor when GOP Senator Johnny Isakson stepped down for health reasons. The winner of her run-off will be up for re-election again in 2022.
Perdue, 70, is a former businessman wrapping up his first six-year term in the Senate.
The candidates on Friday campaigned in Georgia with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a cousin to David Perdue. Loeffler posted tweets from the event showing all four without masks commonly recommended by health professionals to help slow the spread of Covid-19.
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