Republican pollster: Trump’s attitude over the next six weeks may hurt GOP chances of keeping Senate

A coalition of U.S. government security agencies has taken the step to defend the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, calling it “the most secure in American history.” Even so, President Donald J. Trump, the man on the losing ticket, has continued denying the results. Now, experts warn that if Trump doesn't walk away from the fight and offer a peaceful transfer of power to the President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration, it could hurt GOP chances to retain the U.S. Senate.

“If he continues to disillusion voters ... by saying that the elections were rigged and that your vote doesn’t matter, this could have severe consequences for the administration in trying to keep those two seats Republican,” Republican pollster and strategist Frank Luntz told CNBC on Monday's Squawk Box.

According to current NBC News projections, the GOP holds a two-seat advantage in the Senate at 50-48. The remaining two vacancies in Georgia will be decided in run-offs on Jan. 5 in the races of Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock, while the other pits incumbent GOP Sen. David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff.

“I have fully supported the president pursuing every plausible strategy — recounts and litigating irregularities — but at some point you exhaust those possibilities,” Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick Toomey said Monday, also on Squawk Box. “I think the president has reached that point in Pennsylvania. He appears to have reached that point in Georgia. Michigan wasn’t even close.” He added, “I can assure you I am not alone in this view among Republican senators.”

“I would argue that Donald Trump says, and does, over the next six weeks is going to determine the outcome of the Georgia Senate race and well may determine the outcome of our country overall,” said Luntz. “We still find that 55 percent of Trump voters in Georgia ... believe Donald Trump was elected president and so they’re mad."

Luntz said his recent polling indicates Republican voters in Georgia appear more interested in the January runoffs, with 80 percent of GOP voters saying they’re definitely planning to vote compared with 70 percent of Democrats, according to CNBC.