Voters are going to the polls in Georgia on Tuesday to select both of their senators — and to decide control of the U.S. Senate.
Both Republican incumbent Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler face difficult political fights for survival. If Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock win, then Democrats will control the U.S. Senate. Currently, Republicans have 50 seats in the Senate, and Democrats have 48 including two independents from New England who caucus with the Democrats. If Warnock and Ossoff both win, then Vice President Kamala Harris’s vote will break the tie in favor of the Democrats once she is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
A Democratic win would mean that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, would replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, as majority leader and control the Senate calendar. More than that, it would mean that the Democratic Party would control both chambers of Congress and the presidency, something that has only happened four years in the last 40. If Republicans win either seat, they retain control of the Senate and can be a check on the Democrats from pushing their agenda too far left.
President Donald Trump has been campaigning for Loeffler and Perdue in Georgia.
“Today is the day that we send a RESOUNDING message to the Left that REAL Americans want to put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement to supporters. “This Election could decide the future of our Nation for DECADES to come, and I need to make sure you know what’s at stake.”
“The Left’s radical candidates have proven they will put America LAST, while our two great conservative senators have shown they will ALWAYS fight for YOU and YOUR family no matter what,” Trump said. “I want you to know that Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue have my support 100%. I am confident they will do whatever it takes to preserve my critical America First agenda.”
On election eve, while Trump held a rally in Dalton, President-elect Joe Biden was in metro Atlanta trying to turn out the vote in the city’s largest metro area.
“And if you vote for Jon and the Reverend, that’s what you’re going to get: decent, honorable men,” Biden said. “They won’t put a president or party first, and they sure won’t put themselves first. They know public service is about you, it isn’t about them, it’s not about enriching themselves, it’s about making people’s lives better.”
Trump is still angry about losing Georgia in the Nov. 3 presidential election and refused to accept the results.
“There’s no way we lost Georgia,” Trump said just after taking the stage. “I’ve had two elections. I’ve won both of them. It’s amazing.”
Trump took out his frustrations on Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“They say they are Republicans. I really don’t think so. They can’t be.” Trump said, vowing to “be here in a year and a half campaigning against your governor — I guarantee you that.”
If Georgia goes for the two Democrats, then Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby will lose his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. That could be very damaging for the state of Alabama.
Georgia is in the Eastern time zone so the polls should close at 6 p.m. If one side or the other wins by a large margin, the election results should be known by Tuesday night. If it is close, however, the counting of mail-in ballots means that the final results may not be known for days.
