Two races in Georgia will decide which party controls the Senate

WASHINGTON – Georgia is poised to become the center of the political world.

Senate control is expected to come down to the second round in Georgia on January 5, when voters could be asked to decide whether Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler should continue to sit in the Upper House.

Loeffler will face a challenge from Democrat Raphael Warnock after the two emerge from the crowded jungle primary. Perdue’s race against Democrat Jon Ossoff is still deemed “too close to call” by NBC News, but the incumbent Republican seems unlikely to cross the 50 percent mark required to win without a second round.

So far, Democrats have won 48 Senate seats. And Republicans look set to control 50 seats by the time all the votes are counted in Alaska and North Carolina if the current leadership holds.

Democrats will need to win Georgia’s two seats to secure control of the chamber with the decisive vote of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The stakes are huge. If Republicans hold a seat or both, Biden would be the first president since 1989 to take office without full control of Congress, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Would have power over his legislative program, cabinet choices and candidates for justice. .

Georgia Democrats are celebrating the opportunity as Biden leads by 10,000 votes in the Republican-dominated state, with 99% counted and a potential recount on the horizon.

“It’s a new day in Georgia,” said Bianca Keaton, chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party in the diverse and growing metropolitan area of ​​Atlanta, which powers Democrats. “I never thought we would be in this position where the state of our country and the Senate would depend on our state. And here we are. “

Georgia has been at the forefront of political developments in the South.

Decades ago, Democrats in Georgia ruled the state. It was the time of the “Dixiecrats” who fought to maintain racial segregation.

This started to change when National Democrats embraced the civil rights movement and pro-segregationist politicians left the party. Georgia last voted Democratic for the presidency in 1992 – when fellow Southerner Bill Clinton won – and Republicans have not lost a Senate race there since 2000.

But in recent years, with booming suburbs and young and diverse voters skeptical of the GOP turn, a different kind of Democratic Party has gained a foothold. Hillary Clinton lost Georgia by just 5 points in 2016, and Stacey Abrams lost a gubernatorial election by 1.5 points in 2018.

“We are stunned,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia GOP congressman and Trump campaign surrogate. “You know it’s over there, but you just don’t know how shocking it is until you see it. Hats off to the Democrats – they got their people to the polls. “

Kingston said Perdue and Loeffler could try to leverage a Biden victory to their advantage by running against his cabinet nominees, especially if they are on the “far left” of the party.

“The idea that Americans like balance is helpful to us,” he said. “Our people know how to vote in a second round and we will be back.”

Republicans are preparing to campaign to retain control of the Senate to curtail the progressive agenda. The party’s campaign arm promoted video from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer DN.Y., saying, “Now we take Georgia, then we change America!”

Ossoff’s campaign says it’s ready.

“It’s a conversation we welcome,” Ossoff campaign manager Ellen Foster told reporters on a conference call Friday. “It is more difficult to protect the rights of Georgians without a Democratic majority in the Senate.”

On Monday, Ossoff wrote a letter to Perdue calling for three debates live and in person before the possible second round.

Democrats plan to highlight their message on the need to fight the coronavirus against a GOP they say has been reckless about the deadly pandemic and to protect access to health care from attempts to untangle the affordable care law.

Uncertainties surround races. Which side will have the advantage of money? Will Republican energy mark the flag without Trump on the ballot? Will the President’s baseless claims about electoral illegitimacy demotivate or run away from the Conservatives? Will Metro Atlanta take Democrats to the line? And will the new young and diverse voters in Georgia end up on the sidelines?

“Jon is uniquely positioned in this new electorate,” Foster said, describing the race as the first second round in the more diverse Georgia that sidelined Democrats.

Perdue’s campaign has expressed confidence in the way forward.

“If overtime is needed when all the votes have been counted, we are ready and we will win,” Perdue campaign manager Ben Fry said in a statement, saying the Georgians agreed with “the David Perdue’s positive vision for the future direction of our country. “