The Importance of Georgia's runoff Election

Despite President Trump challenging the results, the presidential race has been called by the Associated Press and other official sources. Now, the focus has shifted to Georgia, where a contentious runoff election may determine who controls the Senate.

Today, Georgians will vote in two important run-off elections: Jon Ossoff (D) faces incumbent Senator David Perdue (R), and Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock (D) faces Kelly Loeffler (R), who was appointed to the Senate last year after Senator Johnny Isakson (R) retired due to health issues.
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If the Democrats secure these two seats, that would mean a Democratic controlled Senate for President-elect Joe Biden.

However, if the Republicans keep these seats, that could spell difficulty for the President-elect. During former President Barack Obama’s tenure, he faced a Republican-controlled Congress, and some say this hindered him on voting rights, Iran policy, immigration reform, and other key issues.
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With this in mind, many have rallied to turn Georgia blue, including the President-elect himself. Although it is harder to get voters to turn out for these special elections, especially during a pandemic, early voting reached a “record high” for Georgia, Teen Vogue reported. 

Jon Ossoff at a campaign rally. (Wikimedia Commons)

Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock (Wikimedia Commons)

This turnout is not the only prediction that Ossoff and Warnock are debunking. According to the New York Times, the likelihood of Democrats winning these runoff elections could be slim. They wrote, “Since the 1990s, Democrats have won only one of seven statewide runoffs in general or special elections, according to Inside Elections, the nonpartisan political newsletter.”
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Yet, in the final polls, both Ossoff and Warnock were both leading. So, there is hope for those who want to see a Blue Senate. Having a Democratic-controlled Senate does not necessarily mean progress, though. Looking at recent history, 41 Senate Democrats allowed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a defense bill without a vote on distributing $2,000 stimulus checks. This was after the bill for $2,000 had passed through the House with bipartisan support.

Nonetheless, there could still be hope for a third $2,000 stimulus check, contingent upon the results of the runoff election, CNN noted. ~ℝ

javanna plummer, rwebel in chief

Javanna is the editor of "Rwebel Magazine," the architect behind "Rwebel Radio," and the pioneering force of "Xscape." Through her words, Javanna hopes to inspire creativity, passion and forward-thinking.

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