Trump supporters rally on eve of Georgia election

Supporters of President Donald Trump arrived in Dalton, Georgia on the eve of two runoff elections that will determine party control of the U.S. Senate. The president is set to rally for Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are seeking their second terms. Republicans need just one victory between Perdue and Loeffler to maintain Senate control and force Biden to contend with divided government.

Democrats need a sweep for a 50-50 split, giving the tiebreaking vote to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The president's trip Monday comes a day after disclosure of a remarkable telephone call he made to the Georgia secretary of state over the weekend. Trump pressured Republican Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn Georgia's election results ahead of Wednesday's joint session of Congress that will certify Biden's Electoral College victory.

The call highlighted how Trump has used the Georgia campaign to make clear his continued hold on Republican politics. Angry after the Raffensperger call, Trump floated the idea of pulling out of the rally but was persuaded to go ahead with it so he will have a chance to reiterate his claims of election fraud. Republicans are wary as to whether Trump will focus only on himself and fail to promote the two GOP candidates.