Georgia Runoff Elections – Open Thread

Tonight, the votes have been cast that will determine the control of the U.S. Senate and it’s all over but the counting. However, we may not have a definitive answer tonight.

As I write this, with 65% of the vote in, Perdue is slightly ahead of Ossoff and Warnock slightly ahead of Loeffler. According to FiveThirtyEight.com, each has 50% of the total.

This is the inflammatory news push I got from Fox News tonight. I’ll be dipping in and out of their coverage a bit later.

If Warnock and Ossoff win, will we get a whole new round of "rigged election" attacks from the right? Will Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp continue to stick by the totals?

Share your thoughts and observations in our open thread.

(Candidates’ images via screen grab)

10:47 PM Update: I somehow failed to publish this post a about an hour ago. But the new totals have it 51-49 Perdue, with 88% of the votes counted and 51-49 Loeffler. BUT, it appears both Democrats are doing well.

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Showing 10 reactions

commented 2021-01-06 14:28:04 -0500 · Flag

OMG, the pro-Trump protests are out of control. I am going to put down my writing and go watch TV.

commented 2021-01-06 09:36:49 -0500 · Flag

What a glorious night.
Bye bye Mitch. Bye bye Orange Baboon.
Biden, Schumer and Pelosi need to move quickly. Their paper-thin majority could disappear.

commented 2021-01-06 08:58:43 -0500 · Flag

I gave up and went to bed about 15 minutes before the Democratic explosion. This is sure good news to wake up to!!
Buh-bye, Mitch!!

commented 2021-01-06 08:46:13 -0500 · Flag

Dasvidanya Moskva Mitch.

commented 2021-01-06 08:16:01 -0500 · Flag

Many commenters are wont to remark on McConnell’s ressemblance to a turtle. With all due respect, the figure that comes to mind is a toad who’s just caught a fly.

commented 2021-01-06 08:13:01 -0500 · Flag

Mitch McConnell was all-powerful for far too long. One of the first things the new administration must do is enforce compliance with the principle of checks and balances by limiting the ability of any one person or group to block whatever they don’t agree with.

In MAY 2020 (seven months ago!), the House enacted a detailed, well-thought-out relief-cum-recovery programme. McConnell sat on it with the smug expression worthy of tin-pot dictators and refused to allow it to be brought to the floor of the Senate.

To my mind, that’s a clear violation of the Constitution’s fundamental principle of checks and balances designed to thwart any and every inclination towards authoritarianism.

commented 2021-01-06 00:10:55 -0500 · Flag

From Dave Wasserman:

I’ve seen enough. Jon Ossoff (D) defeats Sen. David Perdue® in GA’s other Senate runoff. #GASEN

Democrats win control of the Senate.

https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1346681326934650880

commented 2021-01-05 23:53:37 -0500 · Flag

More from FiveThirtyEight:

PERRY BACON JR.
JAN. 5, 11:46 PM
Mitch McConnell has been perhaps the most important person in the U.S. government since 2014, particularly with Trump often so disengaged from policy issues. So if he is no longer the Senate majority leader, as seems likely right now, that is of course a huge, huge shift.

commented 2021-01-05 23:52:47 -0500 · Flag

From FiveThirtyEight:

NATE SILVER
JAN. 5, 11:44 PM
Warnock is, in all probability, going to be the first Black Democrat ever elected to the Senate from the South. (There have been Black Republicans, such as current Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.)

NATHANIEL RAKICH
JAN. 5, 11:44 PM
Starting to get firmer numbers on the number of ballots remaining. This should be more than enough for Ossoff to take a lead.

commented 2021-01-05 23:49:49 -0500 · Flag

Wow, it looks like both could win. Warnock seems a done deal and Ossoff likely.