In the first week of 2021, significant developments are already underway as our nation commences a transfer of power. Most notably was the Senate runoff elections on Jan. 5, 2021, in which both Democrat challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff narrowly defeated Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. 

Because no candidates for either Senate seat in Georgia received more than 50% of the vote on Election Day in November 2020, runoff elections for each seat were scheduled for this past Tuesday. For one seat, Loeffler faced off with Warnock, and for the other, Perdue campaigned against Ossoff. 

Of the ninety-eight other Senate seats, fifty are officially held by Republicans, forty-six by Democrats, and two by other parties. Because of this narrow margin of seats between parties, the outcome of the runoff elections in Georgia is pivotal to the state of the union for years to come. 

If either of the two Republican Senators were to win their reelection, then the Republican party would have a Senate majority, which would allow Mitch McConnell to be Senate majority leader. However, because Democrats Ossoff and Warnock managed to win both seats, neither party will have a Senate majority, in which case Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be the designated tie-breaker vote for any split votes on the Senate floor. 

With stakes this high for both parties, candidates have been campaigning rigorously for their seat with support from other political figures like Andrew Yang who went door-to-door in Georgia to garner support for the Democrat candidates, and Stacey Abrams who has consistently organized widespread voter protection efforts and voting rights activism in the state for years. In an added effort to appeal to young voters, Ossoff and his campaign even created an official TikTok account for the candidate to rally extra support. The candidates also participated in Senate runoff debates scheduled after the November election to give voters a better understanding of their choices. 

On Dec. 6, 2020, Loeffler and Warnock debated, criticizing one another for Warnock’s supposed “radical liberal” agenda versus Loeffler’s apparent wealth and privilege. Meanwhile, Ossoff stood alone in a separate debate, to which Perdue neglected to show up. Criticizing both Perdue’s absence and his pandemic response, Ossoff remarked that his opponent was “so arrogant that he disregarded public health expertise and so arrogant that he’s not with us today to answer questions.” 

The main ammunition used by the Democratic candidates was their opponents’ stock trading. According to them, Loeffler and Perdue were briefed on the pandemic before it became public knowledge, but instead of warning Georgians of the risk of spreading the virus, they purchased stocks that would rise and sold stocks that would fall as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns. As many prominent Democrat politicians and journalists have noted, the two then continually downplayed the virus to the public, putting Georgians’ health at risk of a virus that they profited on. 

In the end, the challengers’ and their campaigns’ assertions and attacks against the incumbent Senators proved effective in the runoff elections. As of Jan. 11, 2021 at 6:36 p.m. EST, the Associated Press reports that Warnock has defeated Loeffler with 51% of the vote, and Ossoff has defeated Perdue with 50.6% of the vote, each with 99% of the votes reported.

With this result, Democrats have now solidified their control in both the executive and legislative branches of government for the coming years. Plus, with his victory, Warnock is making history as the first Black man ever elected as a senator in Georgia, and the eleventh nationally.