On Saturday, Dec. 5, the GOP headquarters in Rome, Georgia, held an event that welcomed Senator David Perdue and Congressmen Dan Crenshaw. The event started officially at 12:30 p.m., where the attendees awaited Sen. Perdue’s campaign bus outside the GOP HQ. The occasion was a state-wide excursion held by the Senator’s campaign in his ongoing battle to win reelection due to the runoff.

He was supported by Congressmen Crenshaw and former Governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour. The main topic of the event was the need for Georgia voters to get their vote in by Jan. 5. The election went to runoff since no candidate received a majority vote.

Sen. Perdue spoke mainly on securing Congress for the Republican party. He talked about how the runoff is more important than the original Nov. 3 election. He mentioned that the voter block is larger now due to citizens turning 18 since voting day. Rep. Crenshaw also emphasized the importance of the younger voters in his speech.

When asked to make a statement about Sen. Perdue’s appearance, Douglasville student Christina Nelson said, “Any appearance I’ve heard him at was to campaign, it’s never been about the students. To keep it short, I will not be voting for him in January, he’s made too many mistakes and Georgia is finally seeing it. It’s time for a new leader, it’s time for change.”

Highlands student, Joseph McDaniel, gave a similar quote in opposition to Perdue, “Perdue seems like a pretty cowardly dude,” he said, “After being totally annihilated by Ossoff in the debate they had, and clips of it going viral, he’s refused to accept any future challenges. I vastly prefer Ossoff because his youth represents my interests way more.”

When asked whether the event could be considered a success, Luke Martin, the PR director of the local GOP, said, “Senator Perdue has been here several times, this is probably his biggest crowd.”

Martin highlighted Rome as being a popular stop for candidates when campaigning in Georgia, as seen by President Donald Trump’s visit prior to the Nov. 3 election. He also said that on Dec. 13, Ohio Congressman and founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Jim Jordan, will be making an appearance in Rome. Senator Loeffler is also expected to make an appearance on Dec. 15.

Aaron Green, a Cartersville student, gave his support when asked to about Sen. Perdue, “I feel Senator Perdue is a great leader in our state. I will be voting for him and he has my full support.”

Martin’s closing note was a statement on the alleged voting fraud in the current election, saying, “People are trying to tell the Republicans the election is rigged. Well, you can overcome that by turning out and voting.”