Chuck Rocha, who served as an adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign, said Monday that his outlook on Democrats’ chances in two Georgia runoff Senate elections has been considerably more optimistic in recent weeks.
Rocha noted Republicans’ history of increasing their share of the vote in runoffs compared to general elections, but said “here’s the one number that really gives me hope: of the people who have already voted, 115,000 people who did not participate in November have showed up to vote in this runoff, and over 50 percent of them are African American.”
“Will it still be enough? Maybe not, but it does put us in the game,” he added.
Co-host Saagar Enjeti pointed out that in 2020, early voting numbers were similarly large, but were offset by a comparable surge in same-day voting by Republicans.
Rocha agreed that caution was necessary, saying that going only by the early voting numbers would mean “this thing is already over.” He conceded that much of the early vote was likely Democratic voters who would have voted on Election Day but for the coronavirus pandemic.
“The only reason we’re in the game is [because] we’re going to have this big lead coming out of early vote, but will it be enough? That’s yet to be seen,” he said.
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