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We have the no crying in politics rule in the Kemp house. But this is stuff that, if I said it, I would be taken to the woodshed and would never see the light of day, he said. I can assure you I can handle myself. And if theyre brave enough to come out from underneath that keyboard or behind it, we can have a little conversation if they would like to.

Georgia Republican leaders were now beyond hoping that President Donald Trump would tire of his obsession with Georgia.

Greg Bluestein with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Credit: File

Greg Bluestein with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Credit: File

Credit: File

This is the first time Trump has gone for more than a few days on message. We thought hed change the subject, but he didnt, said a Kemp confidant. As they watched the GOP civil war intensify, the Democratic campaigns couldnt deny a wash of optimism that the stars were aligning in their favor.

Im nervous. Im feeling almost too good about our chances. Which means something must be off, one Warnock aide texted fellow Democratic strategists. Loefflers advisers were growing increasingly pessimistic about her chances. In a December 29 text, one wrote: Its going to be real close. Real close. And if we lose, we know who to blame.

The Trump effect on the GOP electorate was so profound that Republicans had drafted an entire data set titled GOP NOT VOTING detailing seemingly reliable conservative voters who were deemed unlikely to cast ballots in the runoff.

It haunted us. I wanted to hit my head against the wall, said Chris Allen, one of Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loefflers deputies.

While the senator was dreaming up new ways to prove her loyalty to Trump to keep his voters on board, she was beset by distractions from the president and his allies.

A week before the runoff, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani called a meeting with the Georgia Senate Republicans and their top operatives to level the latest in a string of phony claims. He had just weeks earlier starred in the second of two legislative hearings in the state to air false charges of fraud on Trumps behalf, at one point insisting that every single vote should be taken away from Biden.

At this private conference call, Giuliani told the senators that they didnt even need a special session they could unilaterally overturn the election.

Greg Bluestein with Gov. Brian Kemp

Greg Bluestein with Gov. Brian Kemp

As he droned on, Loeffler invented a reason to duck out after twenty minutes, citing a nonexistent media interview. A few minutes later, Georgia U.S. Sen. David Perdue also got off the line. Every day we were putting out fires, said one of Loefflers advisers. We were a hostage with every limb taped, a gun to our head, and a hairpin trigger.

The day before the runoff, Vice President Mike Pence was imploring Republicans to vote in the two runoff elections at a megachurch in the tiny town of Milner when he was interrupted by Trump supporters shouting at the vice president to do the right thing and stop the steal on January 6.

It feels like Im inside a tornado with all kinds of facts and falsehoods swirling around me, said Cade Parian, a west Georgia Republican. I dont know where the tornado is going to spit me out, but I hope like hell its with a majority in the US Senate.

Trumps trip to Dalton gave voters like Parian little relief. For weeks, just about every time Loeffler took questions from the media, she was asked whether she would join the GOP movement to block Bidens victory in Congress by challenging Electoral College certification. As she waffled on the issue, her aides privately warned allies that a pledge by the senator to contest the Electoral College results should be taken as a signal that her campaign had hit a new level of desperation.

As Trump traveled to Georgia, and Loefflers internal polling showed she continued to struggle with the partys base, that moment came in a six-sentence statement issued around 6:00 p.m. on the eve of the runoff.

Greg Bluestein with Stacey Abrams

Credit: file

Greg Bluestein with Stacey Abrams

Credit: file

Credit: file

Saying she had real concerns about the way the November election was conducted, Loeffler promised to vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve.

Taking the stage a few minutes later, Loeffler announced the decision to an overjoyed audience. Thats right, she said, her voice straining to cut through the clamor. Were going to get this done.

Once again, and to no ones surprise, the Trump rally was more focused on the phony claims of election fraud than control of the U.S. Senate.

On giant TV screens draped by a towering American flag, the thousands bundled up at the Dalton airport were treated to videos touting more unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Even the password for the balky WiFi signaled the true purpose of Trumps mission: SeeYouJan6! it read.

As Trump flew to Georgia, Perdue was still in quarantine at his Atlanta townhouse, watching anxiously from afar. He was given a chance to edit the presidents prepared remarks as Trumps jet neared, but he still couldnt look the president in the eye and tell him, point-blank, that he had to call on his supporters to set aside their misgivings about the November election and show up in force on Tuesday.

Trump triumphantly descended from the Marine One helicopter, which touched down behind a row of yellow school buses along the tarmac. Taking the stage with a smile, he warmed the crowd up with a lie. Hello, Georgia. By the way, there is no way we lost Georgia. Theres no way, he said immediately. That was a rigged election. But we are still fighting it.

BOOK EVENT

Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta Book Festival presents Greg Bluestein, author of Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power in conversation with Bill Nigut, host and executive producer of Political Rewind on Georgia Public Broadcasting. 7:30 p.m. March 24. 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody.

More:
Flipped tells the inside story of how Georgia Republicans lost their dominance - The Atlanta Journal Constitution