Georgia Senate runoff race: Senator-elects Warnock and Ossoff defeat Loeffler and Perdue and switch U.S. balance of power

BY CHRIS GOMES

On January 5, 2021, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeated Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in Georgia’s hotly contested runoff race for the U.S. Senate seats, giving the Democrats the Congressional majority. 

These fairly unprecedented wins in what was once seen as a reliably Republican state come two months after President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s electoral win in the state, the first Democrat to do so since 1992. 

In fact, several historic firsts that come with these two Senate seats.

Warnock is a senior pastor for the Ebenezer Baptist Church, a church Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. preached in. With his Senate win, he has become the first African American Senator to represent Georgia. Ossoff became both Georgia’s first Jewish senator and youngest Senator at the age of 33. 

In fact, several historic firsts that come with these two Senate seats.

Warnock had made a statement following his victory, pushing civil and voter rights as his main initiatives. 

“The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” Warnock said. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”

Ossoff, similarly, centered his push in the Senate for healthcare and job access.

“Whether you were for me, or against me, I’ll be for you in the U.S. Senate. I will serve all the people of the state,” Ossoff said. 

Georgia’s two Democratic Senate candidates were victorious because of strong support from voters of color, large turnout in Democratic areas and substantial early voting. About 4.5 million Georgians cast ballots during the runoff elections, doubling that of the previous record for runoff turnout in the state. 

Runoffs in Georgia are often significantly lower in turnout than that of the general election, but the Georgia Senate race was one of high importance as it ultimately decided party control of the Senate. The Senate is made up of 100 seats, with each state holding two seats respectively. Georgia had two seats up for election, an irregularity in most cases. 

One of the two seats up for election, that being now-former Senator Kelly Loeffler’s seat, was originally Johnny Isakson’s seat, a Republican. However, Isakson retired in 2019, and Loeffler was appointed the seat by Georgia’s Republican Governor, Brian Kemp. Now-former Senator David Perdue’s seat was regularly up for election.

Georgia had two seats up for election, an irregularity in most cases. 

The two positions combined for a historic race that decided the control of power in the Senate, as the balance of power had 48 seats for Democrats and 50 seats for Republicans, respectively. 

Georgia law requires that candidates capture at least 50 percent of the vote to be declared a winner, dating back to Jim Crow laws designed to prevent Black candidates from sneaking through a crowded field of white opponents. None of these seats met that threshold in the regular November election, and thus spurred the runoff.

Georgia’s Senate runoff election ultimately ended in the two seats flipping from Republican incumbents to Democratic seats, a feat that can be attributed to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and her voters’ coalition. Democrats will gain control of the Senate for the first time since 2014. 

The Georgia Senate runoff was supposed to be the largest remaining area of concern from the 2020 election, but was quickly rivaled by the chaotic insurrection that took place on Capitol Hill. 

Nonetheless, these two Georgia Senate seats will impact President-elect Biden’s accomplishments as a Democratic President. The change in the balance of legislative power expands the abilities of Biden and allows the ability for him to act on many of his campaign promises.

Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone