Kelly Lynn Loeffler (/ ˈ l ɛ f l ər /; born November 27, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician, who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2020 to 2021. A Republican, Loeffler was previously chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt, a subsidiary of commodity and financial service provider Intercontinental Exchange, of which her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is CEO. WNBA players brought the race into the national spotlight by endorsing Raphael Warnock despite Sen. Loeffler's ownership of one of the league's teams. Kelly Loeffler — a Georgia Republican — faces Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff to fill a seat that will be decisive in determining which party controls the US Senate. Hostage situation is reported in Austin. Republican Georgia senatorial candidate Kelly Loeffler and Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have traded words on Twitter after.
© Drew Angerer/Getty Democratic Senate candidate Raphael Warnock delivers remarks during a campaign rally with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden at Pullman Yard on December 15, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.With just days to go before the Georgia runoffs, an election poised to decide the which party controls the Senate, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and her Democrat opponent, Raphael Warnock, continued to trade political barbs.
The biggest difference that emerged over the weekend was the tone of the campaigns, with Loeffler—a billionaire Trump loyalist—launching into a series of personal attacks on Warnock, who instead focused on her political performance and source of her wealth.
Appearing alongside Texas Senator Ted Cruz at a rally on Saturday in Atlanta on Saturday, Loeffler accused Warnock of 'hiding out' during the campaign. Speaking from the back of a pickup truck, she also accused Warnock of supporting marxism and socialism.
A spokesperson for Warnock told The Daily Beast on Saturday that Loeffler had repeatedly lied during the election campaign.'Georgians see through Kelly Loeffler's dishonest campaign, and they know that during her year serving in the Senate she's spent far more time looking out for herself than looking out for them,' they said.
Despite Loeffler's suggestion he was hiding out, Warnock was on TV, telling MSNBC over the weekend that he was 'deeply honored' to be running for the U.S. Senate 'against the wealthiest member of Congress. 'Only in America is my story possible,' he said.
He added: 'Rather than standing with the people who are crying out for COVID relief who could have used that $2000 stimulus - rather than fighting for that or pushing Mitch McConnell to put it up for a vote—she is busy focused on herself, which is what she had done before she went to the Senate, she did that now that she's in the senate.
'The good news is that in our country we have elections. She was appointed [and] the people are disappointed. The folk who sold her that seat don't own it. And I believe that come January 5 the people of Georgia are coming to get their seat back.'
.@KLoeffler is supposed to be representing the people of Georgia. Instead, she's trying to diminish their voice. And she ought to be ashamed. pic.twitter.com/TclucRGsXo
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) January 2, 2021Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week blocked a one-time $2,000 stimulus check for Americans impacted by the ongoing COVID pandemic.
Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Georgia Governor Ben Kemp in December last year after then-Senator Johnny Isakson resigned for health reasons.
As noted by political analysis site FiveThirtyEight, the runoff was triggered after neither candidate in Georgia's Senate races won a majority of the vote on November 3. The top two candidates in each race are competing for a majority of votes on January 5.
In the regular election, Republican Sen. David Perdue is facing Democrat Jon Ossoff. The Senate is currently made up of 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats.
In a move that is expected to disrupt, but not change the outcome of, president-elect Joe Biden's certification on January 6, Sen. Ted Cruz announced on Saturday that a group of 11 senators and senators-elect would contest the process unless a 10-day audit of the presidential election results in 'disputed states' could be conducted.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Loeffler declined to state if she would vote to certify Biden's win, instead saying that she was 'looking very, very closely at it.'
Loeffler and Warnock's opposing campaigning styles were visible on Twitter over the weekend. While the Democrat called on residents to campaign and vote, Loeffler struck a more Trumpian tone.'Together, we're going to STOP socialism. We're going to SAVE this country. And we're going to PROTECT the American Dream,' she wrote.
Together, we’re going to STOP socialism.
We’re going to SAVE this country.
And we’re going to PROTECT the American Dream.
VOTE TUESDAY! #gapol #gasen pic.twitter.com/qTXydp1ljn
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) January 3, 2021President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be campaigning in the state of Georgia ahead of Tuesday's runoff election. Harris is expected to appear at Savannah later today, while Biden will campaign in Atlanta on Monday. The same day, president Trump is reportedly holding a rally for Republican senators in Dalton.
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Greater Georgia, a grassroots organization headed by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), announced Monday that it would be placing billboards around Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, to call out the “strike out squad” responsible for Major League Baseball’s decision to pull its All-Star Game out of Atlanta.
“Joe Biden, Stacey Abrams, and Raphael Warnock cost the Georgia economy $100 million,” the organization wrote in a tweet announcing the new digital billboards. “All three must be held accountable.”
Joe Biden, Stacey Abrams, and Raphael Warnock cost the Georgia economy $100 million.
All three must be held accountable.
That's why we are calling out the #StrikeOutSquad by placing billboards in high-traffic areas around Truist Park. pic.twitter.com/5mXkAnazUo
— Greater Georgia (@GreaterGeorgia) April 19, 2021
“That’s why we are calling out the #StrikeOutSquad by placing billboards in high-traffic areas around Truist Park,” the organization added.
The billboards feature photos of President Biden, Warnock and Abrams with the caption “MLB’s All-Star Strike Out Squad” included.
Loeffler also shared the news on Twitter, telling her followers that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to pull out of Atlanta, costing Georgia businesses more than $100 million, was “fueled by the lies of Democrat politicians.”
“MLB’s shortsighted decision—fueled by the lies of Democrat politicians—cost Georgia families & businesses $100 million and the chance to host the All-Star Game,” Loeffler wrote.
MLB's shortsighted decision—fueled by the lies of Democrat politicians—cost Georgia families & businesses $100 million and the chance to host the All-Star Game.
That's why @GreaterGeorgia is launching a billboard campaign to remind hardworking Georgians who's really to blame. pic.twitter.com/SxPaWSPeZg
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) April 19, 2021
Loeffler said the new effort from Greater Georgia is to “remind hardworking Georgians who’s really to blame.”
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) also expressed his support for the billboards. “Thank you, @KLoeffler & @GreaterGeorgia for holding @ReverendWarnock accountable for the jobs lost due to his lies,” Carter wrote in a tweet.
According to a spokesman for Fair Fight Action, a group that Abrams kickstarted, claimed Loeffler “and her Republican team traded the All-Star game for voter suppression of people of color in Georgia.”
Last week, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) filed legislation to strip Major League Baseball (MLB) of its immunity from antitrust law.
“Major League Baseball has enjoyed constitutionally questionable antitrust protections for a century, yet it has decided to act in a partisan manner by punishing the state of Georgia for completely reasonable voter integrity and election security legislation,” Duncan said in a statement at the time.
Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler Twitter
As previously reported by Breitbart News, MLB’s antitrust immunity emanates from a Supreme Court decision in 1922, ruling the MLB is a sport and not a business. The NFL, NBA, and NHL do not enjoy the same privilege.
Kelly Loeffler Twitter Stacey Abrams
Follow Kyle on Twitter @RealKyleMorris andFacebook.