Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- President-elect Joe Biden said Monday that Americans would receive $2,000 stimulus checks “immediately” if Georgia votes for Democrats in the Senate run-offs.
- He warned Georgians “those checks will never get there” if Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the two Republican incumbents, win.
- The pair are running against Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The polls in Georgia close at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
- The Senate has so far rejected $2,000 checks — but a Democratic win in the run-offs would see the Senate split 50-50, with Vice-president elect Kamala Harris holding a tie-breaking vote.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President-elect Joe Biden told Georgia voters on Monday that $2,000 stimulus checks would be sent out to struggling Americans right away if the state votes for Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in US senate run-offs.
More than three million people have voted early in-person or by mail in the Georgia run-offs, according to the US Elections Project. The polls in Georgia close at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
During his speech in Atlanta, Georgia, Biden promised that if Warnock and Ossoff won the run-offs, “that money will go out the door immediately to help people who are in real trouble.”
Biden, who is due to take office on January 20, warned that if Georgians voted for Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the two Republican incumbents, “those checks will never get there.”
Direct payments of $2,000, backed by President Donald Trump and both Perdue and Loeffler, have been blocked four times by the Republican-controlled Senate, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling them “socialism for the rich.”
If Warnock and Ossoff won in the run-offs, the Senate would be split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans - and Vice-president elect Kamala Harris would have a tie-breaking vote.
Congress passed a $900 billion stimulus bill on December 22 containing $600 stimulus checks. In a speech on December 22, Biden called the legislation "a down payment," and Democrats have said they will push for more federal aid when Biden takes office January 20.
Trump signed the relief package on December 28, but is urging lawmakers to reach a deal on larger $2,000 checks.
Biden told Georgians that the debate over stimulus checks isn't an "abstract debate," it's about "real lives."
His trip came a day after the Washington Post released a recording in which Trump appeared to plead with Georgia's Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" additional votes to win the state during the 2020 presidential election.
Georgia voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in the November election for the first time since 1992.