The eyes of the political universe are now on Georgia. With Joe Biden’s win, the balance of power in the U.S. Senate will be decided here.
Both of the state’s Senate races were thrown into runoffs after no candidate reached the 50% threshold needed for an outright win.
Currently, Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate. Democrats have gained one new seat with several races undecided but would need two more for a 50-50 split. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast tie-breaking votes in the chamber.
That heightens the stakes for the candidates – and the nation – in Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoff.
Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel siphoned off enough votes in the general election to keep incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue from winning outright reelection. Now, Perdue, a businessman and former CEO, will face off against documentary filmmaker Jon Ossoff at the polls again in 2021.
Ossoff heads into the runoff confident of his chances of winning in a state that appears increasingly blue after the Nov. 3 general election.
He tweeted out early Saturday, “The people will defeat disgraced Sen. David Perdue and win back the Senate on January 5.”
The people will defeat disgraced Sen. David Perdue and win back the Senate on January 5.
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) November 7, 2020
Ossoff portrays Perdue as a “corrupt” Washington insider, saying the former CEO improperly sold stocks after a private briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democrats have made health care a central part of their appeal to Georgians to unseat the state’s GOP Senate delegation as Republicans try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act in court.
Georgia’s Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams says the runoff between Ossoff and Perdue will force Perdue “to once again confront his disastrous record of working to strip away health care from Georgia families.”
Perdue remains confident he will hold onto his seat, insisting that Georgians will not vote to hand power to Chuck Schumer and “the radical Democrats” in Washington.
“We are excited for overtime – it gives us even more time to continue exposing Jon Ossoff and his radical socialist agenda,” Perdue said in a statement to media. “Jon Ossoff does two things well: burn through out-of-state liberal money and lose elections. Georgians will now get to watch him do both again.”
Georgians will also get to decide the state’s other Senate race.
Incumbent Georgia Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler will be in a runoff with Democratic challenger, Rev. Ralph Warnock. They were the top two vote-getters in a 20-person jungle primary held to determine who will fill the remainder of former Georgia Senator Johnny Isaakson’s term.
Isaakson retired at the end of last year due to health reasons. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to the seat, much to the chagrin of many GOPers who wanted him to appoint 9th District Congressman Doug Collins.
Collins walked away from an almost sure bet to be reelected in the heavily Republican 9th Congressional District to run for Senate. He came in a distant third, nearly 300,000 votes behind Loeffler and more than 600,000 votes behind Warnock.
The deadline for Georgians to register to vote in the Jan. 5 runoff is Dec. 7.
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Deadline for Georgians to register to vote in Jan. 5 runoffs is Dec. 7
