Jon Ossoff has won election as a U.S. Senator in Georgia, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time in a decade, CNN projected on Wednesday.
In Georgia’s twin runoffs Tuesday, the Rev. Raphael Warnock easily beat the appointed incumbent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler. But Ossoff’s lead over Sen. David Perdue was so slim – less than one percentage point – that he couldn’t claim victory until Wednesday.
“The election results have provoked whiplash in Washington, which saw Republicans in November make gains in the House and hold onto Senate control,” CNN says.
“But now Georgia gives President-elect Joe Biden the power to push through Cabinet nominations without Republican support and potentially enact sweeping, liberal legislation.”
Ossoff will be Georgia’s first-ever Jewish senator, and at 33, the youngest member of the Senate, which will now be split 50-50, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wielding a tie-breaker vote.
“This campaign has been about health and jobs and justice for the people of this state — for all the people of this state,” Ossoff said in a speech broadcast on social media Wednesday morning. “Whether you were for me, or against me, I’ll be for you in the U.S. Senate. I will serve all the people of the state.”
More importantly for the rest of the country, Ossoff’s vote will give President-elect Biden an opportunity to move forward with his agenda and confirmation of cabinet nominees, without needing Republican support. It could also give Biden a chance to start overhauling the judiciary after four years of Trump’s right-wing appointments.
“This week’s elections mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season,” reports the Associated Press. “The unusually high stakes transformed Georgia, once a solidly Republican state, into one of the nation’s premier battlegrounds for the final days of Trump’s presidency — and likely beyond.”
Characteristically for Democrats, their grip on both the executive and legislative branches of government does not mean an end to ideological disputes.
One obvious point of intra-party conflict is the future of the filibuster, which can give even a single senators the power to obstruct or slow passage of proposed legislation. The Democrats’ liberal wing wants to do away with it, but Biden and the moderates say it encourages bipartisanship.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the current minority leader, is likely – though not certain – to take over as majority leader from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
