Warnock & Ossoff Help Democrats Take Back the Senate
Image courtesy of Bay News 9
By Fernando Cordova
In the early hours of Wednesday, January 6, the first of two U.S. Senate races in Georgia were called for Rev. Raphael Warnock. In the hours that followed, during coverage of the insurrection that took place at the United States Capitol, Jon Ossof’s race was also called, declaring him the winner. With Ossoff and Warnock winning their respective races, Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate after a November election that didn’t provide them with the path to victory they hoped for. Although the Senate is now split 50-50, Kamala Harris gives the Democrats an automatic majority with her tie-breaking vote as vice-president.
The nature of both Ossoff and Warnock’s victories are historic in themselves. Rev. Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, became the first African-American senator to represent Georgia and the first Democrat African-American senator from the South. Warnock beat incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp following former Senator Johnny Isakson’s resignation in 2019. Following the call of the election by major news networks, Warnock addressed supporters in a virtual speech thanking them for their support. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible,” Ossof said.
Ossoff’s victory over incumbent Senator David Perdue can be seen as both historic and a long time coming. No stranger to the Georgia political scene, Ossoff was the Democratic candidate against former Rep. Karen Handel in the 2017 special election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. Despite losing the race by a close margin, he announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate in 2019. After a runoff election, Ossoff won his race alongside Warnock, defeating Perdue by about 1.2%, a margin similar to that of Warnock’s victory. By winning his race, Ossoff became the first Jewish senator to represent the state. Although his race wasn’t called until the afternoon of January 6, it became clear that Ossoff would maintain his lead over Perdue due to the incoming vote from the surrounding counties in the Atlanta region. “Thank you for the confidence and trust that you have placed in me,” Ossoff said in a virtual speech put out by the campaign the morning of.
With Ossoff’s and Warnock’s victories in Georgia, Democrats managed to shift the balance of the Senate to 50-50, regaining the majority with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Although Senate Democrats hold a slim majority, it may prove difficult in getting important legislation passed such as COVID-19 relief. This difficulty in bipartisanship and cooperation is already starting to show with Democrats’ desire to get rid of the filibuster and the Republicans pushing to save it, in a resolution currently being negotiated by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Senate’s 50-50 split will most certainly test whether or not members from both sides of the aisle are willing to reach out and cooperate with each other in order to get important legislation passed. However, there’s no denying that Warnock and Ossoff will play a key role in this process, knowing that they now represent what many are calling a “purple state,” inferring their role in working across the aisle.
