Political Rewind: GOP Faces Internal Struggle Leading Into Senate Runoff Elections

Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Thursday on Political Rewind: President-elect Joe Biden has maintained his lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia after the state’s ambitious hand recount of some 5 million ballots. But the process discovered counting errors in several counties that added more than 1,000 votes to the Trump column.

Meanwhile, even while the president and many loyalists here in Georgia and across the country continue to claim that the election was stolen, many Republicans are beginning to contemplate how their party will regroup in the aftermath of the Trump presidency.

Former state Republican Party chairman and current mayor of Sandy Springs Rusty Paul said distrust in the election across the nation was self-inflicted. 

"The worst problem and the biggest tragedy is the undermining of confidence in our system — and that's what our enemies want to have happen, and we're feeding it ourselves," Paul said. "It's not the Russians, it's not the Chinese, it's not a foreign agent. It's happening inside, and they've got to be sitting back just gleeful at what we're doing to ourselves."

The panel looks at the disputed election, how it may affect the Senate runoffs and at the future of the Republican Party with expert political officials in Georgia.

Panelists:

Saxby Chambliss — Former U.S. Senator

Rusty Paul — Mayor of Sandy Springs, former chairman of Georgia Republican Party

Sam Olens — Former State Attorney General

Kevin Riley — Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution