Former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove will serve as national finance chair for Senate Republicans in the Georgia runoff elections in January, a person familiar with the effort told Politico on Monday.
The two Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia will determine which party controls the Senate next year, with Republicans currently holding a 50 to 48 advantage following the results of the elections earlier this month.
If Democrats manage to win both the Georgia seats, they will take over the majority in the Senate thanks to a tie-breaking vote by vice president-elect Kamala Harris.
Due to the high stakes in the runoffs, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has formed the Georgia Battleground Fund to benefit Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in their respective races against their Democrat opponents — pastor Raphael Warnock and documentary filmmaker Jon Ossoff, respectively.
Both political parties are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the state.
The importance of the races has attracted potential future GOP presidential hopefuls, such as Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who are planning to campaign for the Republican candidates. Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to travel to Georgia later this week.
High-profile Republicans are also contributing to the fundraising effort, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley serving as honorary co-chairs.
Although Republican officials refused to say how much they hoped to raise, they contend the fund has already collected almost a fourth of its overall goal in just a week.
Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia earlier this month, the first time a Republican failed to capture the state since 1992.