Georgia Senate Election: All you need to know

GEORGIA voters went to the polls on Tuesday to select their senators in two runoff elections that will ultimately determine who will represent them in the Senate.

Why is this senate election garnering so much attention? This is because while over 81 million Americans voted for Joe Biden as president in the U.S. election last November, the election results in Georgia will have major implications for Biden and his legislative agenda

If Republicans win at least one of the two races, they will maintain control of the Senate. Democrats face a much tougher challenge; it will need to win both races to gain control of the Senate.

The outcome will also decide whether Democrats will have power over both House and Senate for the first time since 2011. If Republicans maintain control over the Senate, Biden is expected to preside over a divided government for the next two years. He will have have a difficult time to get his proposals through Congress.

Here is what you need to know about the Georgia Senate Elections:

A sign is seen as voters line up for the U.S. Senate run-off election, at a polling location in Marietta, Georgia, U.S., January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

A sign is seen as voters line up for the U.S. Senate run-off election, at a polling location in Marietta, Georgia, U.S., Jan 5, 2021. REUTERSpic

What is happening?

• Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are facing Republicans David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler in races that will determine control over the US Senate.

• Three million voters cast ballots in early voting both in-person and via mail.

• The races remain too close to call. The Associated Press reports Warnock and Perdue leading with 97 percent of votes counted.

• Georgia has not had a Democratic senator in Congress since 2005.

Democrats need to win both seats to force a 50-50 Senate and gain control with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris eventually casting possible tie-breaking votes. REUTERSpic

After a hard-fought campaign that pulled in Donald Trump and president-elect Joe Biden, the results of the runoff elections will be significant to determine control of the US Senate and shape the first years of the new Democratic presidency. REUTERSpic

Why is there a runoff election in Georgia?

• It was four long days of uncertainty following the U.S. Election Day 2020 but the presidential race was finally called in favour of president-elect Biden on November 7. But the Georgia races were left in a limbo after Perdue narrowly failed to clear 50 percent of the vote, sending the race to a runoff.

• According to Georgia election rules, the winning candidate needs to win 50 percent of the votes. As neither side achieved that, the top two candidates go one-on-one in another vote, called the runoff.

Incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are looking to keep their seats against Democrat challengers Jon Ossoff, and Raphael Warnock in the Georgia election runoffs. REUTERSpic

Who are the candidates in the runoff?

• The present Georgia Senators are Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

• Perdue, 70, faces Democrat Jon Ossoff, 33. Perdue has been a Senator in Georgia since 2015 and a loyal supporter of Donald Trump.

• Ossoff’s 2020 election campaign was endorsed by civil rights activist and leader John Lewis, who died on July 17, 2020.

• Loeffler, 50, came into office following the resignation of the sitting Senator Johnny Isakson. She faces Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock, 51. Warnock is a pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr once preached.

How much money has been raised in the runoff election?

• The four candidates have raised over $340 million in the runoff.

• According to Georgia’s Capitol Beat, Ossoff and Warnock raised $210 million, while Perdue and Loeffler together collected $132 million.

Why does the runoff election in Georgia matter?

• The result will be crucial to Biden's presidency and his legislative agendas.

• The state is around 52% non-Latino white and 33% black, according to 2019 census data.

• The Biden-Kamala Harris win in the state was the first time in 30 years Georgia went to a Democratic presidential candidate.

• A Democrat has not won in a Senate race in Georgia for decades.

A Fulton County election worker puts absentee ballots in a scanner as election observers look on, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, US, Jan 5, 2021. REUTERSpic

When will we know the outcome of the race?

• Votes are currently being counted in Georgia.

• As in the presidential election, it could take days to count absentee ballots and learn the outcomes of the race.

• Usually, election results are known on the night of the election but state officials say the winners may not be declared on Election Night with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, saying the outcome most likely will be called on Wednesday morning (US time).