Loeffler to visit Albany as Election Day nears

ALBANY — A mere three weeks away from an election that has been going on for more than two years, two of the primary candidates seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by businesswoman Kelly Loeffler are making their way into Albany and southwest Georgia in search of votes in a 21-candidate “free-for-all” showdown.

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and the new frontrunner in the race, was in Albany all day Saturday, and the incumbent is making her way to the Good Life City on Monday. Loeffler will make an appearance at 3 p.m. at BJ’s Country Buffet, 2401 Dawson Road.

Restaurant owner B.J. Fletcher, who endorsed Loeffler early in the race, said she’s excited that Loeffler is making an appearance in southwest Georgia.

“I’m a person who doesn’t vote party; I vote for the person,” said Fletcher, who has also endorsed Democratic District 2 U.S. House Rep. Sanford Bishop in his race with Republican Don Cole and Republican House District 151 incumbent Gerald Greene in his race with Democrat Joyce Barlow. “I’ll never forget what Kelly Loeffler did for southwest Georgia when we were in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. (Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman, donated $1 million to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and has given grants to other agencies in the region.)

“People have said, ‘Oh, she did that for political reasons or for other reasons.’ But the fact remains, she did it. Usually, these other people who criticize someone for doing something good do very little themselves.”

Loeffler, who until being overtaken by Warnock recently has led in polls associated with the 21-person race, is in a battle with Rep. Doug Collins to claim the majority of the conservative vote. In all likelihood, no candidate will be able to collect more than 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 3, a scenario that would force a runoff between the top two vote-getters.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is accompanying Loeffler on the stop in Albany.

“I would love for the public to come out and meet Kelly, to hear what she plans to do for Georgia in the Senate,” Fletcher said. “I’ve listened to her, and I’m convinced she is the right person to represent our values in the Senate.”

The election is a special called election to fill the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson for health reasons. By state law, Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler in December to fill the seat until the next election, which is the Nov. 3 general election. That has left Georgia in the rare position of voting for two Senators in the same election cycle. Republican incumbent David Perdue is being challenged by Democrat Jon Ossoff in the other Senate race.

The winner of the special election will hold the Senate seat for two years before the seat is up for re-election.

File PhotoFile Photo: Carlton Fletcher