image source,EPA
Democrat Raphael Warnock delivers his victory speech.
The US midterm election marathon is finally over. Democrats have secured a majority in the Senate, which would make it easier for President Joe Biden to stay in office for the next two years.
US President Joe Biden called to congratulate the winner. Voters in Georgia “defend our democracy” and “sent a nice guy back to the Senate,” he tweeted.
This is the latest development after the runoff in Georgia swing state on the evening of Dec. 6. The state failed to decide on the Senate seat on Election Day, November 8, and both African-American candidates fell short of 50 percent support, sending voters to a second round.
In this close contest, both sides poured large sums of money, reportedly in the tens of millions of dollars. Ultimately, Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker to become the state’s first African-American senator to win a six-year term.
A victorious Warnock will begin his six-year term.
what does democratic majority mean?
image source,Reuters
A man votes in Georgia.
Democrats currently hold a majority of 51 Senate seats, compared to 49 seats for Republicans.
Democrats retained seats in key battleground states in November’s midterm elections, holding a majority in the Senate. The victory in Warnock, Georgia gave the Democrats one more seat.
Vice President Kamala Harris no longer needs to cast a casting vote. The United States Constitution provides that the vice president may cast a tie vote to determine ultimate ownership of control.
With the current structure, Democrats can bypass Republican obstacles and control powerful Senate committees, making it easier for Biden to make administrative and judicial appointments.
Democrats should pick up the pace and appoint liberal judges to federal courts.
More importantly, if a Supreme Court justice unexpectedly retires or dies, Republicans will not be able to stop Biden from proposing a candidate for this seat.
another blow to Trump
image source,Reuters
Republican Herschel Walker (right) shakes hands with Trump (left) at a rally in Georgia in September 2021.
The defeat of Republican Walker was a new blow for Trump. Most of the candidates he supported failed in the midterms.
Walker is a former NFL player who was endorsed by Trump.
The election was controversial. Walker faces multiple allegations of fathering children with multiple women and paying a girl to have an abortion, which he denies。And Republican policy bans abortion altogether.
Walker’s defeat challenges Trump’s political judgment. Trump announced his bid for re-election for president three weeks ago.
His opponent, Warnock, is a pastor who has served since 2005 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. was baptized. Warnock is the youngest senior pastor in the history of the church, which has become synonymous with the fight for civil rights in African American history.
The Transformation of Georgia
image source,Reuters
Georgia voters congratulated Warnock on his victory.
For Georgia, Warnock’s victory means Democrats will remain competitive here and give the Democratic candidate a slight lead in the 2024 presidential election to help capture the state’s 16 electoral college votes.
In 2020, Georgia played a key role in Biden’s victory, leaning toward the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Georgia is very conservative. In this year’s midterm elections, Republicans swept nearly every major state-level job, including the governorship, and took control of the state legislature.
The state, located in the southern United States, where slavery was fought to preserve during the Civil War, is considered to have the worst history of racism.
