Winning 2 Seats in Georgia Run Off, Democrats to take Control of US Senate

Winning 2 Seats in Georgia Run Off, Democrats to take Control of US Senate

Democrats won control of the US Senate after Jon Ossoff joined his Georgia colleague Raphael Warnock in beating Republican incumbents in run-off elections, giving incoming president Joe Biden control of both houses of Congress.
Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have defeated Georgia’s two incumbent Republican U.S. senators in the state’s runoff elections, the Associated Press said Wednesday, in a development that gives their party effective control of the Senate.
Ossoff and Warnock were projected the winners over Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler by the AP following campaigns that drew massive spending and worldwide attention because the runoffs were set to determine the balance of power in Washington. The AP called the race for Warnock over Loeffler first, at about 2 a.m. Eastern, then followed with the call for Ossoff over Perdue on Wednesday afternoon.
Republicans controlled 50 seats in the Senate following November’s elections and would have remained the majority party in the 100-seat chamber with just one win in Georgia. But instead Democrats picked up two seats and now are set to run the Senate.
The pair of Democratic wins in Georgia mean a 50-50 split in the Senate, effectively giving Democrats control of the chamber since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be able to cast tie-breaking votes.
Ossoff, at 33, will be the youngest member of the Senate when he is sworn into office. Ossoff, a CEO of a London-based investigative documentary company, entered the national political scene four years ago when he narrowly lost a special election in Georgia 6th Congressional District in a race that drew national attention, making it the most expensive House election at the time. Perdue, 71, was first elected to the senate in 2014. Prior to being elected to Congress, Perdue was a businessman who worked for companies like Reebok, PillowTex, a North Carolina textile company and Dollar General.
Warnock made history with his election win, becoming the first Black Democrat elected as a U.S. senator from a state in the South and only the 11th Black senator in the history of the nation. He becomes the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate race in Georgia in 20 years.
“To everyone out there struggling today, whether you voted for me or not, know this,” Warnock said as he declared victory in a video from his home. “I hear you, I see you, and every day I’m in the United States Senate, I will fight for you. I will fight for your family.”
President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration and the Democratic-run House of Representatives now won’t face the same checks on their policy priorities that they would have faced with a Republican-controlled Senate, though analysts have said the slim Democratic majority in the chamber could mean more power for moderate senators from either party.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Related Stories

-+=