Another factor besides bribing the electorate ... was reported was lower turnout in blue areas, reportedly because the election was fixed (e.g. Ruby video). Mitch is angry with Trump over this, instead of the GOP state officials who rank and file believed certified a false election. Why bother spend the time if the outcome is already determined. I also think there was a continuation of the Stacey’s stuffing the ballot boxes with illegal votes.
PS - The people who would vote for the $2000 bribe generally wouldn’t vote GOP anyway. No matter what $$$ amount of public money a GOP candidate would bribe a voter, the demonkkkraps will always out-bribe them. And when the demonkkkraps don’t deliver on their bribes, no problem, the dupes will continue to vote for them. Many people love to be lied to because the alternative -accept the truth would require work and personal change.
They did a survey a couple of days before the run-offs and the GOP actually was leading, even if not by a huge amount. Granted, the Dems were cheating like mad and in fact this is the only thing that even made it close, based on the original polling for the GOP candidates.
A survey done after the election did indicate that the $2000 factored into the thinking of a lot of voters. And both of the Dem candidates were out there immediately capitalizing on it and promising people they’d get it if they elected the Dems. McConnell’s action was also presented as something showing that the GOP doesn’t care about “the little guy,” and this is the narrative the Dems went with.
Even Trump, although acknowledging the problems of a cash stimulus and objecting to many of the things in the bill, was in favor of going ahead with it. I honestly think McConnell did it as an act of spite, because he knew he didn’t need Trump’s support anymore since Trump had, theoretically, not been reelected and McConnell was opposed to re-examining the election in any way (and actually spiked an attempt to do this).