Georgia Senate second round results: Jon Ossoff beats David Perdue

Democrat Jon Ossoff won a seat in the Georgia Senate, defeating Republican David Perdue in one of the state’s main ballots on Tuesday.

The race was triggered by the Vox voting partner’s ruling office at 2:14 a.m. ET.

Ossoff is the second Democrat in Georgia to win the Jan.5 runoff election. Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock also won his race on Tuesday night, following an appeal from the ruling office of Vox’s electoral partner. Importantly, Ossoff’s victory means Democrats have now won the two seats needed to regain control of the Senate.

Ossoff is a former investigative reporter who ran for Congress in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District in 2017, lose by little to Republican Karen Handel in a second round. Few election experts in Georgia predicted he would beat Perdue, given that the Democrat fell about 88,000 votes behind Perdue in November. Ossoff’s victory two months later suggests greater enthusiasm for Democratic candidates and weaker enthusiasm for Republicans.

Ossoff and Warnock’s victories follow President-elect Joe Biden as the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since 1992. House Democrats also reversed their only GOP-held district of 2020 in the seventh congressional district of Georgia, on the outskirts of Atlanta.

These great victories for the Democrats signify a change in the diversification of the Georgian electorate.

“The state is getting younger and more diverse every day,” Ossoff told Vox in an interview this fall. “Investments in democratic infrastructure over the past decade have been massive.”

Ossoff’s victory is also a firm rebuke from President Donald Trump in a Senate race the outgoing president has largely made about him and his November defeat in Georgia. Ossoff’s Republican opponent Perdue was one of Trump’s first allies in the Senate and a staunch supporter of the president following the November 3 election. Perdue and fellow Republican Kelly Loeffler backed Trump in his battle against Republican state officials in Georgia, relying on the president’s support in the state to propel them to victory.

This support ultimately did not materialize.

What Ossoff’s victory means for Senate control and Biden’s agenda

Joe Biden may have won the presidency on November 3, but he’s not having much of a chance to deliver on the bold agenda he came up with without congressional membership.

Biden takes office amid multiple crises: Covid-19 pandemic worsens in US even as vaccines begin to ship across the country, and millions still unemployed due to layoffs related to coronaviruses. After months of partisan stalemate, Congress managed to pass a $ 900 billion economic relief plan ahead of the New Year. Biden has said he wants more economic stimulus, but whether a future package can be passed will largely depend on which party controls the Senate.

“The power is literally in your hands. Unlike any point in my career, a state can lead the way – not just for the next four years, but for the next generation, ”Biden said at a rally Monday in support of Ossoff and Warnock.

Even with this victory, Democrats will have to face Republicans in the Senate. Getting the two seats in Georgia gives Democrats 50 Senate seats, plus Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as a crucial tiebreaker for simple majority votes. The catch is that most bills must have a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. Therefore, even if Democrats control the Senate, they will generally need around 10 Republican votes to get things done.

Passing Democratic bills will be extremely difficult in a 50-50 Senate. It will even be difficult to pass bipartite bills. But winning Georgia’s seats is the only thing that ensures Democrats – rather than McConnell – will have a say in bills that come before the Senate for debate. It would also give them the ability to more easily confirm the choices of Biden’s Cabinet or its candidates for the federal bench and the United States Supreme Court.

Ossoff’s victory in Georgia ensures that Democrats can at least count on that slim Senate majority.