Majority control of the U.S senate will be determined by the results of the Georgia runoff on January 5th, 2021. In order for the Republican Party to retain the majority they would just need to win one seat in the Georgia runoffs. The Democratic Party has to win both seats in order to split the Senate chamber 50-50, with Vice-President elect Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.
In Georgia a candidate must receive 50 percent of the vote in order to be declared the winner. None of the four candidates running for the two seats received 50 percent of the votes in the November 3rd election, thus resulting in the January 5th runoff.
The last day to register to vote in the Georgia runoff is December 7th. Early in-person voting begins December 14th. Georgians can request an absentee ballot here. It is important to note that absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on January 5th. For more information on how to register to vote, check out Georgia.gov, as well as a step by step list on how to vote by absentee ballot and ensure your vote is counted.
Who Are The Candidates?
Republican incumbent David Perdue is running against Democratic challenger Jon Ossof are the candidates in the regular Senate election runoff. A recent poll showed Ossof beating Perdue by only two points. In the initial election Perdue did get 49.7 percent of the votes, losing the seat by a .3 percent margin.
Perdue has been supportive of President Trump on Perdue’s official Twitter page.
Perdue also noted that he was a co-sponsor for the Restart Act, which is a bill that covers payroll and other related expenses for businesses hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Ossoff has been very critical of his opponent on Twitter. Ossoff will be participating in Georgia runoff debates tonight, but Perdue will not participate. The two candidates did go head-to-head in a debate back in October.
Ossoff has also stated his support for direct stimulus checks.
Kelly Loeffler Versus Raphael Warnock-The Senate special election.
Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler was appointed by Georgia governor Brian Kemp to fill Johnny Isakson’s seat when Isakson resigned in 2019. The winner of the runoff between Loeffler and Warnock will determine who gets to serve the remaining two years of Isakson’s initial term.
In the initial election Warnock received 32.9 percent of the vote, while Loeffler got 25.9 percent. The two candidates will be participating in the Georgia debates tonight. Here’s how to watch.
Loeffler recently tweeted about her proposed Prosperity Plan.
Loeffler also recently introduced a gun owner privacy bill in the Senate, calling it the GOP Act.
Loeffler has courted several controversies. She and her husband hold a roughly 500 million dollar stake in ICE. She also came under fire for dumping stocks after being briefed earlier this year on the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic. Loeffler also criticized the WNBA’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement. (She is still currently co-owner of the WNBA Atlanta Dream team.)
Reverend Warnock is the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Warnock criticized Loeffler’s support for Trump, most recently with Trump’s request to throw out votes in Georgia.
Warnock tweeted about a special performance by the original cast of Hamilton the Musical in support of him and Ossoff.
Warnock did tweet out prayers for Harrison Deal, a young Loeffler campaign staffer who was killed in a car crash.
Warnock has also voiced his support for more COVID-19 relief and lowering student education costs.
Every vote counts in this crucial election. Make sure to register and make your voice heard if you are a Georgia resident.
