Georgia Voters Hold Key to Country’s Future

On January 5, 2020, voters in Georgia will return to the polls for a runoff election because neither candidate received 50% of the vote for the two senatorial seats during the November general election. It will be one of the most critical votes in the country's history because if the Democrats can win both seats that are up for grabs, they will control the upper chamber. If they manage to snag just one of the seats, then the vice president breaks any ties. If the Democrats win either election and Joe Biden becomes the next president, he would have an easier time passing his agenda, including action on the coronavirus pandemic, criminal justice reform, and climate change.

Early Voting in Georgia

Over 1.6 million voters have already cast their ballots in early voting, which started on December 14. Officials say that is in line with the early voting numbers recorded in the general election.

Who is Running?

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are facing off against David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Jon Ossoff

Democrat Jon Ossoff is an investigative reporter who lost to Republican Karen Handel in 2017 to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. He holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. He is very progressive on women’s issues and health while his views are more moderate on jobs and security.

David Purdue

Ossoff, who has raised more than $106.8 million, is running against David Purdue, who has represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Ahead of that, Purdue was an executive manager with several companies, including being CEO of Dollar General. He has been outspoken about asking for Georgia’s general election results to be overturned. Forbes has recently reported that in October 2019, Purdue sold his home off-market to a member of a committee who was lobbying his Senate Banking Committee. Therefore, he is facing questions from the Senate Ethics Committee.

Raphael Warnock

Since 2005, Raphael Warnock has been the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr attended. He has hosted interfaith meetings at his church on climate change. He was arrested at the state capital in 2014 while conducting a sit-in to get Medicaid expanded in the state. Warnock, who is supported by Planned Parenthood, is a proponent of gay marriage and abortion rights.

Karen Handel

Karen Handel served Georgia’s 6th district in the U.S. House of Representatives from June 26, 2017, to January 3, 2019, and was Georgia’s Secretary of State from January 13, 2007, to January 8, 2010. She has called for the federal government to limit its involvement in climate change and has been outspokenly critical of Obamacare.

Mail-in Votes

Over 2.3 million people have submitted applications to vote by mail in Georgia. That total includes more than 132,000 people who did not vote in the general election. According to Georgiavotes.com, 68% of those requesting mail-in ballots were over 50 and 54% were white.

Early Voting

According to early voting statistics collected by georgiavotes.com, approximately 68.4% of all votes cast early have come from people over 50. The group also says that 54.3% are from white voters.

Biden, Harris, Trumps in Georgia

Joe Biden made appearances for Georgia candidates on December 15 while Harris campaigned in the state on December 22. President Trump campaigned in Georgia on December 5 while Ivanka Trump campaigned in the state on December 21.

Keys to Watch

In the days between now and January 5, there will be several keys to watch to see who may win this vital election. First, early voters tend to vote more Democratic while those who wait to vote in person tend to vote Republican. Secondly, the number of people under 50 voting will be another important factor because these voters tend to be Republican. Finally, the number of voters of Asian descent may be critical. In the general election, over 30,000 Asian voters cast their first ballot, and they went 2-to-1 for Biden. Therefore, turning out this group to vote again may make a massive difference in the result.

All eyes will continue to be pointed towards Georgia in the upcoming weeks. The way that the United States goes for the next several years may be determined by voters in that state. In the days immediately following the general election, betting polls placed the odds of the Republican candidates winning at least one seat at over 90%. As of December 24, those odds had lowered to 73%. Goldman Sachs says that they think that the stimulus package will be raised to over $800 billion if Democrats take control of the Senate. Movement will likely also be seen on Biden's Green New Deal, forgiveness of student loans and local and state governments getting more help to fight COVID.