US Polls:Two Georgia runoffs may determine control of the Senate in January
Senator David Perdue, right, will face Jon Ossoff in a runoff in January, in one of two Georgia Senate races that have yet to be decided.Credit...John Amis/Associated Press; John Bazemore/Associated Press
By Our Editor/ Luke Broadwater(Washington Post)
As the dust settles from the presidential race, the eyes of the political world have already shifted to Georgia, where two runoff elections set for early January,2021 will almost certainly determine which party has control of the Senate.
This was an unusual year for Georgia, with both of its Senate seats up for election. Senator David Perdue, a Republican elected in 2014, was facing a normal re-election race. In addition, Senator Kelly Loeffler, another Republican appointed last year to succeed Senator Johnny Isakson after he retired because of health issues, was facing a special election to serve out the remainder of his term until 2022.
Both of their races went to runoffs because none of the multiple candidates garnered at least 50 percent of the vote. Mr. Perdue’s Democratic challenger in the runoff is Jon Ossoff, while Ms. Loeffler’s is the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock.
After elections last week, Republicans and Democrats are tied in the Senate 48 to 48, with Republicans expected to win two other Senate races in North Carolina and Alaska. The outcome of the two Georgia runoffs will either swing the majority to Democrats, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote handing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. broad power to carry out his policy agenda, or leave Republicans in charge, allowing them to influence his plans. In the weeks ahead, tens of millions of dollars in campaign cash are expected to pour into both races.
