U.S. Georgia Senate Runoff Vote Counting Begins, Early Democratic Lead in a Tight Race

If Two Democratic Candidates Win, President and Both Houses Controlled
Biden's Governance Fate at Stake
Final Results May Take Several Days to Confirm

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Georgia Senate runoff election, which holds the future of President-elect Joe Biden, has concluded. Despite full support from both the Democratic and Republican parties, an extremely close race was expected, making it impossible to predict the winner, but early vote counts show Democratic candidates leading.

In the runoff election concluded on the 5th (local time), Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler faced off against African American Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, and Republican Senator David Perdue competed against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff. As of 8 PM, early in the vote count, Democratic candidates Warnock and Ossoff are leading the Republican candidates with about 53% of the vote.

The Washington Post projected that due to the extremely close race expected from exit polls, it could take several days to confirm the final results. In the previous election, Loeffler and Warnock received 25.9% and 32.9% respectively, while Perdue and Ossoff received 49.7% and 47.9%, with no candidate achieving a majority, leading to the runoff election.

The vote counting for the Georgia State Senate election is underway.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Most media outlets, including NBC, reported that the exit polls could not determine a winner, but The New York Times gave a higher probability of both Democratic candidates winning as of 8 PM. Contrary to early expectations favoring Republicans in the Senate runoff, Democratic candidates have made significant gains. If both win, the Democrats will achieve a 'Blue Wave,' controlling the presidency and both houses of Congress.

According to The Washington Post, over 3.1 million voters participated in early or absentee voting. This is more than 60% of the approximately 5 million who voted in last year's presidential election. Due to the high number of early voters, polling stations on the day were relatively quiet. This suggests a potential surge for Democratic candidates similar to the presidential election. Georgia, traditionally considered a Republican stronghold, became a fierce battleground in both the presidential and Senate runoff elections. In this region, President-elect Biden narrowly defeated President Trump by 11,779 votes. Despite multiple recounts amid strong protests from President Trump, the results were not overturned.

With 48 seats secured, if the Democrats win the two seats in Georgia, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's casting vote can be used to secure a Senate majority. So far, the U.S. Senate has been evenly split 50-50 only three times in history.

In the U.S. political system with a clear separation of powers, the Senate holds not only legislative authority but also powerful powers such as personnel approval and budget review. If the Democrats control the Senate, President-elect Biden can firmly take the lead in government administration. If a vacancy arises in the federal Supreme Court, Biden can also have his nominee confirmed as a new justice.

If the Democrats fail to secure the Senate majority, the Biden administration is likely to face difficulties from Republican opposition in implementing major policies such as large-scale stimulus, environmental protection, and climate change response throughout the four years. The confirmation of Biden's nominated cabinet members will also face red lights.

Conversely, although defeated in the presidential election, the Republicans, who made gains in the House, can firmly check President-elect Biden if they maintain the Senate majority.

Recognizing this, the Democrats launched a full-scale offensive with President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris actively supporting on the ground. Biden also requested votes for Democratic candidates through a radio interview on the day to provide $2,000 cash payments to all citizens. President Donald Trump also supported Republican candidates by campaigning in person the day before.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that Republican supporters are sympathizing with President Trump's claims of election fraud, raising concerns about post-election repercussions. According to AP News exit polls, 75% of Republican supporters responded that President-elect Biden was not legitimately elected. AP News reported that Trump's baseless claims influenced Republican supporters.

Just before the election, a phone call from President Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding, "Find me 11,780 votes," was made public, causing a stir.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.