Steve Peoples, Bill Barrow And Russ Bynum
Voters register before casting their vote during Georgia s Senate runoff elections on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) January 06, 2021 - 2:07 PM
ATLANTA - Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats â and with them, the U.S. Senate majority â as final votes were counted Wednesday, serving President Donald Trump a stunning defeat in his turbulent final days in office while dramatically improving the fate of President-elect Joe Bidenâs progressive agenda.
Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their partyâs evolving coalition, defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler two months after Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.
Warnock wins Georgia runoff, becoming state’s first Black senator as Dems on brink of majority Chris Sommerfeldt
Democrat Raphael Warnock made history early Wednesday as he defeated one of Georgia’s two Republican senators in a hard-fought runoff election, putting Joe Biden’s party one step away from gaining full control of Congress for the first part of his presidency.
Warnock, a pastor who has for the past 15 years led the Atlanta church where the late Martin Luther King, Jr., preached, was declared the winner by The Associated Press as he trounced incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler by more than 35,000 ballots, or nearly 1% of the vote, with more than 97% of the results tabulated.
Democrats Jon Ossoff, left, and Raphael Warnock exchange elbow bumps during a campaign rally in Augusta, Ga., on Monday. (Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle via AP)
ATLANTA (CN) Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff has won his Georgia runoff contest against Republican Senator David Perdue, giving President-elect Joe Biden’s party control of the chamber.
Ossoff won 50.28% of the vote compared to Perdue’s 49.72%, putting him just beyond the threshold that would have allowed Perdue to request a recount. Georgia law allows a losing candidate to request a recount if the final margin is 0.5 percentage points or less.
In the other runoff election, Democrat Raphael Warnock secured a win against Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. Warnock will make history as Georgia’s first Black senator. He holds a 1.4-point lead over Loeffler, also putting him beyond the threshold for a recount.