Georgia will hold runoff elections for both US Senate seats on Tuesday, and the result will determine control of the Senate.
Republicans hold a 50-48 majority, not counting the Georgia seats. If either or both of the incumbent Georgia Republicans, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, keep their seats, the GOP will have majority control and a greater ability to block the agenda and proposals from the Democrat-controlled House of President-elect Joe Biden.
If challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win, the Democrats would take control of the Senate, while Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast a tie in her role as Senate President. Mr Biden would have a far better chance of significant policy changes.
Here’s what we know about the drain.
Why is Georgia doing runoff elections this way?
Georgia is unusual in that the presidential candidate with the most votes in the general election is the winner, but that is not the case with the candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives. If no candidate receives more than one vote of more than 50% in these races, the two front runners, regardless of the party, will run in a runoff election.
Who can vote and when is the registration deadline?
Anyone who has registered as a voter in Georgia by December 7th can take part in the runoff election. In Georgia, voter registration ends 30 days before the election.
However, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that a voter must be resident in Georgia and expect to stay there. He said he will pursue election fraud cases against anyone who moves to the state for the sole purpose of running the runoff in response to some suggestions on social media that do so.
Four candidates go to a runoff to win two seats that determine which party controls the US Senate. WSJ’s Cameron McWhirter explains the stakes in the highly anticipated race and each party’s campaign strategy. Photo illustration: Ang Li
Is there an early vote?
The early personal vote began on December 14th and ended on January 1st.
What about postal voting and postal voting?
Georgia law allows absentee voting, and a record 1.3 million out of 5 million votes cast in the November 3 general election were absentee votes.
Valid postal voting documents will be counted if they are received by 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The state electoral committee agreed to expand a rule that would allow counties to provide post boxes for ballot papers instead of requiring voters to drop them off at county’s electoral offices.
Why does Georgia have two Senate seats in the game at the same time?
The terms of office of the US Senate are usually staggered, with a third of the Senate seats being elected every two years according to the constitution. The system was developed to ensure stability in times of uncertainty and at the same time to protect against rapid changes.
Ms. Loeffler was appointed by Georgian Republican Governor Brian Kemp at the end of 2019 to fill the seat of Republican Johnny Isakson, who retired on health grounds. According to state law, the new senator must stand for the next parliamentary election. Georgia has two Senate seats in the game at the same time, which is rare. Anyone who wins Senator Loeffler’s seat must run again for a six-year term in 2022.
What are the voter turnout expectations?
Georgia officials have announced that due to the large number of absentee votes they have received so far, they expect an above-average turnout in a runoff election.
According to the US election project, more than 3 million Georgian voters cast their vote in the runoff election on Monday. That is less than the turnout in November, when 3.9 million ballot papers were cast the day before election day. But it’s much higher than normal for a runoff, where the turnout is usually far lower when compared to parliamentary elections.
Black voters, a core Democratic constituency, now make up about 31% of the early-voting electorate – a larger percentage than the November group and a good indicator of the Democrats.
Republicans say the high turnout on Election Day will act as a counterbalance to the Democratic early voting.
In Georgia runoff elections favored the Republicans. An impartial study of the history of the Georgia runoff election found that the Democrats have won one in seven statewide runoff elections since 1988.
The runoff is expected to be one of the most expensive in history, with Republicans, Democrats and outside groups investing heavily in advertising and campaigning.
President Trump called on Raffensperger on Saturday to reverse the November election results Georgia delivered to Mr Biden. A transcript of that phone call, in which the president said he wanted Raffensperger to find nearly 12,000 votes so he could undo Mr Biden’s victory, was released on Sunday, just two days before the runoff election. Throughout the conversation, Raffensperger, who oversees the state elections, declined pressure to further investigate an election that resulted in multiple recounts and legal challenges with no evidence of widespread fraud being found. His office was also confident in the runoff elections on Tuesday on Monday.
Why is Georgia close this year after decades as a reliably republican state?
Republicans have long dominated Georgia’s statewide elections, but margins have narrowed in the recent election.
Georgia is growing rapidly, with its population increasing 8.3% to 10.5 million from 2000 to 2018, according to the US Census Bureau. During the same period, the state’s black population rose from 30.5% to 32.2% of the total population. The Hispanic and Asian populations also increased.
Much of this growth is taking place in the Atlanta metropolitan area, which tends to vote democratically. The metropolitan area’s population is approximately 6 million, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Who are the candidates?
Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler was appointed by Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp in late 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Republican Johnny Isakson.
Photo:
Jessica McGowan / Getty Images
Kelly Loeffler
Age: 49
Party: Republicans
Previous activity: Businesswoman
Education / Military Service: Ms. Loeffler holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from DePaul University.
Former Political Service: Appointed Governor Kemp to replace Senator Isakson
Votes received in parliamentary elections: 1,271,309
Ms. Loeffler was previously the chief executive of a Bitcoin trading and storage platform company that is majority-owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc.,
the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. She is also a co-owner of WNBA team Atlanta Dream and has criticized the league’s acceptance of the Black Lives Matter movement amid protests that broke out in police custody following the murder of George Floyd. Mrs. Loeffler’s husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is the founder and chief executive officer of Intercontinental Exchange and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. The couple are valued at more than $ 500 million, making Ms. Loeffler the richest member of Congress.
Rev. Raphael Warnock is running against Republican incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler.
Photo:
Robin Rayne / Zuma Press
Raphael Warnock
Age: 51
Party: Democratic
Previous position: Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968.
Education / Military Service: Mr. Warnock graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He also holds a Masters of Divinity, Masters of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Political Service: None
Votes received in parliamentary elections: 1,615,517
Mr. Warnock oversaw the high profile funeral of former Rep. John Lewis (D., Georgia) and directed the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, an unarmed black man who was previously fatally shot by police in a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta earlier this year. “For fear of losing his freedom, he lost his life because he ran away from a system that too often turns people into slaves,” said Warnock in his laudatory speech. “It’s much bigger than the police. It’s about a whole system that calls for renewal and reform. “
Senator David Perdue (R, Ga.) Is running for re-election.
Photo:
Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call / Zuma Press
David Perdue
Age: 70
Party: Republicans
Previous position: Former CEO of Dollar General Corp.
Education / Military Service: Sen. Perdue attended the US Air Force Academy, but dropped out. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Tech, Atlanta.
Previous political experience: Sen. Perdue was elected to his post in 2014. It was the first and only political office he aspired to or held.
Votes received: 2,462,617 or 49.73%
Senator Perdue came from a political family in Georgia. He is a first cousin of Sonny Perdue, President Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture. Sonny Perdue was also the first Republican governor of Georgia since rebuilding.
Jon Ossoff, who faces Senator David Perdue in the runoff election.
Photo:
Robin Rayne / Zuma Press
Jon Ossoff
Age: 33
Party: Democratic
Occupation: documentary filmmaker
Education: Mr. Ossoff holds a bachelor’s degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.
Previous Political Service: Mr. Ossoff ran unsuccessfully for the Sixth Congressional District of Georgia in 2017. That election, which he lost to Republican Karen Handel, was the most expensive house race in history. He served as an advisor to US Congressman Hank Johnson (D., Ga.) For five years.
Votes received in parliamentary elections: 2,374,519 or 47.95%
Mr. Ossoff is the managing director of Insight TWI, a London-based production company that has produced documentaries on the Islamic State, human trafficking and other topics. In high school, Mr. Ossoff interned with Mr. Lewis.
—Cameron McWhirter and Lindsay Wise contributed to this article.
Write to Valerie Bauerlein at valerie.bauerlein@wsj.com
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