Today’s Georgia Runoff Elections Will Decide Control of Senate for Biden’s First Two Years

Two Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday will have major consequences for the incoming Biden administration. Control of the Senate is a crucial question for President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda during his first two years.

In what’s become an unexpectedly close race, Republican Senator David Perdue is facing Democrat Jon Ossoff, while his Republican colleague Senator Kelly Loeffler is squaring off against Rev. Raphael Warnock in a state that’s been the center of controversy since the presidential election on November 3.

If the Democrats manage to win both seats, the Senate will be tied and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be empowered to break the deadlock when she comes to office on January 20. This would effectively give Democrats control of the chamber for two years.

“Georgia, the whole nation is looking to you,” Biden told a rally on Monday. “Unlike any time in my career, one state can chart the course not just for the next four years but for the next generation.”

President Donald Trump was also in Georgia on Monday, urging his supporters to cast their ballots for the Republicans and again asserting that he had won the 2020 presidential election – the final phase of which takes place in Congress on Wednesday.

“If the liberal Democrats take the Senate and the White House – and they’re not taking this White House,” Trump said. “We’re going to fight like hell.”

Democrats usually don’t fare well in Georgia special elections but Biden’s victory there and the conflict between local GOP leaders and Trump over the election results has created a potential opportunity to buck the trend. Warnock and Ossoff are slightly ahead in the most recent polls.

All eyes will be on the Peach State today but focus will shift to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday as Congress finalizes the 2020 presidential election over expected objections from some Republican members of the House and senators.