Christian Voters From Both Parties Key Force In Georgia Senate Runoff Elections

Georgia, in the heart of the Bible belt, will determine the fate of which party controls the Senate on Jan. 5. The majority of the state’s residents identify as Christian and many will likely be motivated by their religious beliefs.

One of the primary issues guiding Christian voters in Georgia is whether a candidate is “pro-life,” but others have argued that being “pro-life” in handling the coronavirus pandemic takes precedence when deciding which candidate to vote for.

A reverend in Georgia urged his supporters to “vote Christian” ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff races that will determine which party will control the Senate.

Rev. Josh Saefkow told his congregation at Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia outside of Atlanta that “we got a little election coming up.”

“Vote Christian,” he said without mentioning any names or parties. “We need to vote with the context of scripture in our minds and let it come through the lens of scripture.”

GOP incumbent Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are both “pro-life.”

While he will not tell his congregants who exactly to vote for, he has publicly disagreed with the two Democratic challengers, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, on abortion.

In another neighboring church, Antioch AME Church, the reverend preaches a similar — yet entirely different — message.

“We’re challenging our so-called evangelical brothers and sisters. We’re challenging them to be better. We’re challenging them not to hide behind something called pro-life,” preached Rev. Vandy Simmons. “Where you’re more concerned about the life you can’t see instead of making provisions for the life that come into this world.”

Those churchgoers take issue with focusing solely on abortion when going to the ballot box.

In order for the Senate to flip blue, both Republican incumbents would have to lose re-election. If that were to occur, then Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would serve as the tie-breaking vote.