Young Discusses Importance of the Senate Runoffs in Georgia 

WASHINGTON, DC — This past Wednesday, The Ripon Society hosted a virtual discussion with U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN). As Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Young led the GOP effort in 2020 to protect their majority in Congress’s upper chamber. He kicked off his remarks by calling out the prognosticators who dismissed any chance of a Republican Senate in 2021.

“My initial reflections with respect to the 2020 races are, frankly, how wrong the pundits got it,” Young said matter-of-factly. “There was a blue tsunami of financial resources going towards Democratic candidates, much of it generated through the Act Blue platform. $95 was spent for every vote against Lindsay Graham in the state of South Carolina, yet Jamie Harrison lost. $92 was spent for every vote for Amy McGrath in the state of Kentucky, yet Mitch McConnell won re-election handily. 

“Campaigns need enough resources to compete, but money is not everything. You need to strategically target resources in the right places to win these races, and that’s what we were able to do. This part is key: we decided to deploy those resources roughly two months earlier than they’d ever been deployed before so, by early summer, we were actively running ads in key battleground races, positively defining our own candidates, and highlighting and accentuating some of the less favorable traits about their opponents that their opponents wouldn’t tell you.”

Young also said that the level of inaccurate public polling in some of these Senate races was particularly troubling to him this year.

“The public polling was really off. Our polling was not, our polling was fairly accurate. I know that you never stick the landing exactly with respect to your polling, but we’re going to have to rethink how much weight we should put into public polling and look at the responsibilities of individuals to commission a poll— both journalistic responsibilities and professional responsibilities. If that polling shows that one side is way down in a race, it can depress turnout. An example of this would be Susan Collins’ race where she was never ahead in a public poll until Election Day when she won by a decent margin.

“This has been a really interesting cycle. Of course, it’s not done yet. We were staring into the abyss of maybe only winning 43 or 44 seats earlier this year. That was really regarded as a possibility for a period of time. ‘Nothing was off the table,’ as Chuck Schumer said. But due to a far left agenda being put forward by Democrats, here we are at 50 seats. And we’re working incredibly hard to win 51 and 52 in Georgia.”

Once Young concluded his initial remarks, he answered a couple questions from the virtual audience including what the current status was of the two Georgia runoffs.

“The initial signs are very positive,” the Indiana Republican stated confidently. “I have to commend the President for going down to Georgia. He said multiple times that the people of Georgia should get out there, as disappointed as they may be about the presidential race, and vote for David and Kelly. It is really important for him to drive that message, but what’s also important is he emphasized the importance of voting early and voting absentee if eligible.

“Democrats traditionally surpass Republicans when it comes to absentee voting, but they’re only outclassing us by a few points right now. We are way ahead of schedule on absentee voting, and we’re also doing well with respect to voter contacts.”

Regarding those who still question the legitimacy of the voting process, Young said he was confident that Republicans understanding the stakes of the runoffs, and will turnout to vote in the end.  

“We’re seeing people internalize the notion that it is critical that we maintain this firewall against the leftward lurch of the Democratic Party,” he stated. “And for those who are proud of the Trump legacy and the Trump agenda, so much of it was accomplished through executive orders and regulatory decisions. And those will be wiped out by the radical nominees that will be put forward if there’s not some force to push back against many of these things. That word is getting out and I feel good about our turnout effort.”

The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.