Both Senate runoff selections in Georgia were too close to call Tuesday night as Republicans and Democrats vie for control of the chamber, according to NBC News.
The get a move ons will determine which party holds the Senate majority for the next two years. Democrats aim for unified control of Congress and the Chaste House. Republicans want a check against President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.
In one contest, 71-year-old Republican David Perdue beats against 33-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff, who runs a documentary production company. Perdue seeks a second term in the Senate after his at the outset ended Sunday.
The other special election pits 50-year-old Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler against 51-year-old Democrat Raphael Warnock, the older pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached. The seat, which opened up after one-time GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson retired early, will be up for reelection in 2022.
Both elections went to runoffs after no candidate gathered more than 50% of the vote in the general election.
Counties have begun reporting results, with some slight feel embarrassed counties’ reports already complete. Cobb County in the Atlanta metro area said it will not finish tallying outcomes tonight and will resume ballot counting Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
A sign is seen as voters line up for the U.S. Senate run-off plebiscite, at a polling location in Marietta, Georgia, U.S., January 5, 2021.
Mike Segar | Reuters
Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes in November. NBC Front-page news did not call his win over President Donald Trump in the Peach State until three days after Election Day, as bona fides tallied mail-in ballots.
More than 3 million Georgians cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday, have an effect a historic high turnout for a runoff election in the state. Runoff election data and voter history data urge Democrats held an advantage in early voting turnout. Republicans hoped for a strong showing on Tuesday.
Average sit tight time at polling locations hovered around one minute statewide through Tuesday, according to the Georgia secretary of formal’s office. Top Republican election official Gabriel Sterling said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that electing day turnout could range from about 600,000 to 1.1 million voters. Exact numbers are difficult to portend before ballots are counted.
Several precincts closed later than 7 p.m. ET due to delays earlier in the day. The latest was a Lowndes County balloting location that closed at 8:00 p.m. ET, according to the Georgia Democratic Party. Voters who were in line before ballots close were legally allowed to cast a ballot.
The pair of runoffs in Georgia are the two most expensive Senate sluices ever, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
If even one of the Republicans win, the GOP will keep Senate command. Democrats need to sweep both races to reach a 50-50 split in the chamber. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris force then hold a tiebreaking vote.
The election results will shape the first two years of Biden’s agenda. If Republicans hold back the Senate, they will push for a smaller coronavirus relief package than Democrats hope to pass in the do months. During a rally Monday, Biden and the Democratic Senate candidates stressed wins in Georgia could relief them to pass $2,000 direct aid payments — a plan Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attacks on its own.
A Democratic Senate would also give Biden a better chance of passing his economic recovery agenda and sustaining his chosen Cabinet nominees and judges. Confirmation requires only a majority, while most legislation will desideratum 60 votes to pass.
Throughout the runoffs, Perdue and Loeffler have appealed to Trump’s loyal supporters, containing by backing the outgoing president’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. In a climactic event just days in the future the election, Trump threatened Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over a phone call to find referenda that would overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia.
Loeffler said in a statement Monday that she would object to the certification of the Electoral College results on Wednesday. The maneuver is expected to fail.
Some GOP strategists worried that Trump’s go oned attacks on the integrity of Georgia’s elections could discourage some Republicans from voting on Tuesday.
This mystery is developing. Please check back for updates.
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.