Senator Perdue of Georgia Quarantines Days Before Runoff
Senator Perdue of Georgia Quarantines Days Before Runoff
(Bloomberg) -- Senator David Perdue of Georgia, just days before a runoff election that will determine control of the Senate, has gone into quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, his campaign announced on Thursday.
Perdue, 71, and Senator Kelly Loeffler, a fellow Republican, are battling to keep their seats in the runoff campaign that has been marked by turmoil and party infighting in which President Donald Trump has played a major role.
Perdue “was notified that he came into close contact with someone on the campaign who tested positive for Covid-19,” his campaign said in a statement. “Both Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but following his doctor’s recommendations and in accordance with CDC guidelines, they will quarantine.”
With no one receiving a majority in multi candidate races in the Nov. 3 general election, Georgia is conducting its first dual runoff for two Senate seats Tuesday, pitting Perdue against Jon Ossoff and Loeffler against Raphael Warnock. The outcome will determine which party will control the Senate -- and, perhaps, the success of President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
Trump plans to hold a rally for Perdue and Loeffler on Monday, but bitterness over the presidential election continues to haunt the Senate race.
The president has repeatedly attacked Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, while making unfounded claims of fraud in the November election. Loeffler and Perdue have called on Raffensperger to resign.
Perdue’s announcement comes after several senators and members of Congress have contracted the virus over the past few months. Earlier this week, Luke Letlow, a congressman-elect from Louisiana, died of the illness. He was 41.
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