Residents of Georgia headed to the polls yesterday for the runoff elections that would determine which party controls the senate. Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler faced off with Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, after none were declared winners in the election held in November. It has been reported that both Ossoff and Warnock won their respective runoffs.
“May my story be an inspiration to some young person who is trying to grasp and grab hold of the American dream,” Senator-elect Warnock said in a video on January 5. He also serves as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the former spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis.
If you recall, President-elect Biden narrowly won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, a milestone for the longtime Republican state.
On January 3, Madam vice president-elect Kamala Harris spoke to the people Savannah to speak on the importance of voter participation, saying, “You will make a decision about who is holding these most powerful positions that will chart the course of Georgian families and families all around our country.” She will serve as the tie-breaker in the Senate, giving the Democrats the slight lead.
She then added, “So I’m here to thank you, on behalf of Joe and myself, for what you did in November. And I’m here to ask you to do it again. Everything is at stake.”
Senator-elect Ossoff also shared a video early Wednesday morning and thanked Georgia for the support. “It is with humility that I thank the people of Georgia for electing me to serve you in the United States senate,” he said.
Citizens are largely crediting these major wins to Stacey Abrams and LaTosha Brown, two Black women who fought to halt voter suppression in Georgia. Abrams is the founder of Fair Fight Action and Brown is the co-founder of Black Voters Matter.