COLUMBUS, GA – (WRBL) – Vice President Mike Pence joins the campaign swarm to the valley this week with an event in the Fountain City today.

The Vice President arrived in Columbus around midday to campaign for Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the runoff races against Jon Ossoff and Ralphael Warnock.

The temperature was 38 degrees during the “Defend the Majority” rally in Columbus but that didn’t stop hundreds of supporters from coming out to hear Vice President Mike Pence encourage them to vote Republican in the January Senate runoff races.

Pence said it was essential that Perdue and Loeffler remain in the Senate to preserve work done under the outgoing Trump administration. He also refused to acknowledge that he and Trump lost the election. “If Georgia sends David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler back to a republican majority in the United States Senate, Georgia will have done more than your part to Keep America Great,” he said.

Folks bundled up in several layers of clothing, ear muffs, and bubble jackets cheered as Pence talked about why Perdue and Loeffler needed to be back in Washington.

“We need David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler to get in the way of higher taxes, We need David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler to get in the way of open borders, socialized medicine, the Green New Deal and packing the courts.”

Pence wrapped his speech telling people to vote when they left the rally. “You still have time today, about 2.5 miles down the road you an go to Columbus Technical College, 928 Manchester Expressway, its right across from the Walmart and the Pizza Hut. Let’s get it done Georgia.”

Congressman Vernon Jones spoke to the crowd before Pence arrived. He frequently told the shivering rally-goers to “Hold the Line”. Jones told them “If you can stand out here in the cold, then you can stand in line to vote.” Jones also refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden was the President-Elect.

“It may look like the fat lady has gotten to the mic, but she hasn’t sung yet,” he told the cheering crowd.

During his short speech, Jones also said that Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams had “met in a back room somewhere and devised a plan to rig the election.” These claims have not been proven to be true.

After he spoke, Senator Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue arrived. They each spoke to the crowd briefly.

After the stop in Columbus, Pence, Loeffler, and Perdue took a trip to Macon, Georgia for the second “Defend the Majority” rally of the day.