Two staff members for Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia tested positive for the coronavirus, but a subsequent test of the senator came back negative, the senator’s office said Saturday.
She is trying to hold on to the seat this November, but faces a tough challenge from fellow Republican Doug Collins, a four-term congressman, and Democrat Raphael Warnock, pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached.
A Jan. 5 runoff between the race’s top two candidates — likely Warnock and either Loeffler or Collins — will be required if nobody wins more than 50% in November.
Loeffler also tested negative earlier this month and continued campaigning after coming into contact with President Donald Trump, who was treated for the virus.
She attended a news conference in the White House Rose Garden on Sept. 26 where Trump announced Barrett as his nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photos of the event show Loeffler sitting in the audience in close proximity to other people and not wearing a mask. Several attendees of the event, including Trump, later tested positive for the virus.
Loeffler was also among Georgia lawmakers who greeted Trump as he exited Air Force One at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta on Sept. 25.
