taken on December 15, 2020 Democratic Senate candidate Reverend
Raphael Warnock speaks during a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP)
Joe Biden’s Democratic Party took a giant step Wednesday
towards seizing control of the US Senate as they won the first of
two Georgia run-offs, hours before Congress was set to certify the
president-elect’s victory over Donald Trump.
Reverend Raphael Warnock’s victory, projected by multiple US
networks overnight, capped a grueling nine-week runoff campaign and
puts Georgia’s other knife-edge race in the spotlight for its
potential to impact the balance of power in Washington.
“I promise you this tonight: I am going to the Senate to work
for all of Georgia,” Warnock said in a livestream to
supporters.
Should Republicans lose the second race it would be a political
debacle just hours before Trump is expected to suffer another
bitter blow when Congress affirms Biden’s Electoral College
victory.
Multiple Republicans have signaled they will try to block the
certification of the vote.
But their numbers appear slim and the House and Senate are all
but guaranteed to reject the effort and certify the Electoral
College results.
Warnock, 51, made history as just the third African American to
win a Senate seat from the South. He defeated Kelly Loeffler, a
50-year-old businesswoman appointed to the Senate in December
2019.
In the second race, Democrat Jon Ossoff’s campaign manager said
in a statement that once all votes are counted they “fully expect”
Ossoff will have defeated his Republican opponent.
With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Ossoff edged out to a
0.22 percent lead, and analysts have said he was well placed to
win, with outstanding votes coming from Democratic-leaning regions
such as Atlanta.
Such results would be a major political upset in a GOP bastion,
a southern state that has been reliably Republican for two decades
but which Biden won in an upset on November 3 as he marched to
victory against Trump in the presidential race.
It would also send reverberations through Washington and the
nation, as it would essentially hand Biden’s Democrats the levers
of power in the executive branch and both chambers of Congress.
With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Warnock was ahead by
46,551 votes out of nearly 4.4 million cast, or one percent.
Loeffler however refused to concede. “It’s worth it for this
election to last into tomorrow, we’re going to make sure every vote
is counted,” she told supporters.
Democrats need both candidates to prevail in order to snatch the
Senate from the Republicans. If Perdue holds on to win, Republicans
preserve their Senate majority.
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“Georgia — The nation is looking to you to lead us forward,”
tweeted President-elect Biden earlier on Tuesday.
“The power is in your hands,” wrote the 78-year-old Democrat,
who like Trump visited the Peach State to rally supporters on the
eve of the vote.
Georgia was voting during a week of high political tensions,
with Trump desperately scheming to reverse his election loss.
Later Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence is to preside over a
joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote
that confirmed Biden as the winner of the White House.
Trump is planning to address a rally near the White House in
protest at the certification, with hundreds of supporters in red
“Make America Great Again” caps already gathered downtown amid a
heavy police presence, as shop owners, fearing unrest, boarded up
windows.
Trump has urged Pence to “reject fraudulently chosen electors” —
a move the vice president has no legal authority to make — while
dozens of House Republicans and 12 Senate Republicans have
separately said they will raise objections to certification.
The move lacks sufficient support and is doomed to fail.
– ‘Continued obstruction’ –
Democratic victories in Georgia — where a record three
million-plus people voted early amid the coronavirus pandemic —
would break the runoff winning streak that Republicans have held in
the statewide races since 1992.
Robert Lowe, a 74-year-old retired improv comedian, called it
“the most important election in my lifetime,” after casting his
ballot at an Atlanta church for the Democrats.
If Republicans retain control of the Senate there will be
“continued obstruction” in Washington, Lowe told AFP.
– ‘Downside risks’ –
Voting figures in several Georgia counties showed Republican
slippage against Trump’s numbers from November, which could spell
bad news for Loeffler and Perdue if that trend continues.
“It turns out when your coalition depends so much on one person
(Donald Trump) driving turnout, there are some big downside risks
when that person isn’t on the ballot,” tweeted Dave Wasserman, an
expert on congressional races and editor of the nonpartisan Cook
Political Report.
Trump’s get-out-the-vote rally in Georgia Monday came a day
after The Washington Post published a recording of a phone call in
which the 74-year-old president pressured Georgia officials to
reverse the certified vote of November’s election and hand him
victory in the state.
On the tape, Trump is heard telling Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger he wants to “find 11,780 votes” — one more than
Biden’s margin of victory.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/06/democrats-win-first-georgia-senate-runoff/