Republican Sen. David Perdue led Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff by two percentage points but fell below 50% in unofficial results. Georgia requires runoff elections for general-election races where no candidate exceeds half of all votes cast. With another runoff already set for the state's other Senate seat, Georgians could decide control of the Senate in January.
If Perdue tops 50% in the final count, Republicans keep the Senate majority so long as they also win uncalled races in Alaska and North Carolina where GOP incumbents have maintained steady leads. Perdue had 49.88% of the votes counted as of 9 p.m. Thursday, compared with 47.81% for Ossoff and 2.31% for Libertarian Shane Hazel.
With the outstanding votes mostly in urban areas expected to favor Democrats, both major-party campaigns said they were prepared for a runoff — which would be the state's second.
Georgians had the unusual phenomenon of both Senate seats on the same ballot after former GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned last year for health reasons. Following a special election with a crowded field, Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed to take Isakson's place, will face Democrat Raphael Warnock in the Jan. 5 runoff for the state's other Senate seat.
If President Donald Trump wins reelection — which remained too close to call Thursday — the GOP-led Senate would continue to cooperate in a drive to reshape the federal judiciary, often with young and conservative picks. Democrats are on track to maintain control of the House despite several losses, so only bipartisan legislation would become law.
If Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency, a Republican Senate could limit his choices for judicial nominees and executive positions that require Senate confirmation, from secretary of the Treasury to general counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It would mark the first time a president entered office with an opposition Senate since 1989, complicating Biden's legislative agenda and potentially preventing him from delivering on campaign promises about renewable energy and climate change.
Recent presidents secured legislative wins early on with their parties controlling Congress. With unified GOP control in 2017, Trump signed major tax cuts into law. President Barack Obama got his signature health care law through two Democratic chambers in his first two years.
However, Democrats could take the Senate majority if they capture both Georgia seats and also the White House, since the vice president breaks ties. Winning both Senate runoffs would be a tall order for Georgia Democrats, who last won a Senate seat in 1996. Republicans have dominated statewide races since the mid-1990s, although elections have grown more competitive recently. GOP Gov. Brian Kemp beat Democrat Stacey Abrams by just 1.4 percentage points two years ago.
"It's possible for a Democrat to win statewide, but it's certainly not been an easy task," University of Georgia political scientist M.V. Hood III told Law360. "Historically, Republicans do better in runoffs in Georgia. They just have better turnout. … But things can always change. I guess it depends on how energized Democrats remain after the general election."
Georgia is the only state in the nation that requires runoffs for general-election races where no candidate tops 50% of the votes, according to Hood. The only exception is the presidential race. While third-party candidates rarely exceed a few percentage points in statewide races, they have prevented an absolute majority in several close races and previously forced runoffs in 2008 and 1992.
Attention turned to Georgia after nearly all Senate incumbents kept their seats. Only three states flipped party control, according to calls by The Associated Press: Democrat Mark Kelly beat Republican Sen. Martha McSally in Arizona, Democrat John Hickenlooper defeated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado and Republican Tommy Tuberville easily unseated Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
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