Democrat Raphael Warnock has defeated incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia Senate runoff race. His victory brings Democrats one step closer to having a majority across all three branches of government, according to WSJ data.
Warnock’s victory over Loeffler has made history, making him the first black senator to represent Georgia in Washington, reports the Associated Press.
“The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” Warnock said, “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”
Loeffler hasn’t conceded and appeared to challenge the election results. She plans on returning to Washington D.C. to join Republican Senators in challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s certification. “We’ve got some work to do here. This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election,” Loeffler said.
With Warnock’s victory secured, the focus has now shifted to Democrat John Ossoff’s race against incumbent David Purdue. At this minute, Ossoff leads by a miniscule 0.40% with 98% of precincts reporting. Under Georgia law a candidate can request a recount if the margin is 0.5% or less.
