The presidential election may be over (although Trump still refuses to concede and continues to challenge the results), but the fate of the U.S. Senate — and of the entire country — has yet to be decided. If Republicans remain in control of the Senate, many of Biden’s efforts will be blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, just as he blocked most of the priorities of the Obama administration.
The Senate majority now hinges on one state: Georgia.
We won’t know who holds a majority in the Senate until runoff elections are held in Georgia on January 5.
What happened in the Senate?
The Senate race this year was highly competitive. Thirty-five seats were up for election. Democrats needed to pick up 4 seats in order to regain the Senate majority.
Unfortunately, Democrats didn’t get the blue wave they had hoped for. In the end, Republicans managed to hold on to all but two of the seats that Democrats thought they had a shot at. And, incumbent Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama lost his seat to Trump loyalist Tommy Tuberville (as was expected).
Democrat Mark Kelly, an astronaut and husband of former Representative Gabby Giffords, flipped a vital seat in Arizona, beating Republican Martha McSally (who was appointed to fill John McCain’s seat after his death). Democrats also picked up a seat in Colorado, where former Governor John Hickenlooper defeated Senator Cory Gardner.
That puts the Senate currently at 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats (which includes 2 independent senators — Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — who caucus with the Democrats). A party needs 51 seats for a majority, but in the event of a 50-50 split, the party that holds the White House also controls the Senate, because the Vice President acts as a tie-breaker.
What happened in Georgia?
Now, everything rests on Georgia, where both Republican Senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — were up for re-election. Under Georgia law, a candidate must receive 50% of the vote to win.
Perdue was up against Democrat Jon Ossoff, but ended up just shy of the necessary 50%.
Loeffler — who was appointed by Governor Brian Kemp following the resignation of Senator Johnny Isakson — was up for reelection in a special election that featured 20 candidates. Loeffler came in second, at 25.9% of the vote, after Democrat Raphael Warnock, who received 32.9%.
That means both Georgia Senate seats will advance to runoff elections on January 5. If both Republicans lose in Georgia, McConnell will also lose control of the Senate. It is absolutely critical for both Ossoff and Warnock to win in order for Democrats to make any meaningful progress under Biden.
How you can help
You don’t have to be a Georgia resident to help with the Georgia runoff elections. Anyone can donate to organizations working to register and mobilize voters in Georgia.
Here are a few ways you can get involved:
1. Volunteer with Fair Fight
Fair Fight, founded by 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights.
After Abrams narrowly lost her 2018 gubernatorial bid (by only 55,000 votes in an election marred by allegations of voter suppression), she founded Fair Fight to lead the charge against what she saw as race-based voter suppression.
Fair Fight joined a growing number of grassroots organizations working to register new voters across the state and help them get to the polls on election day. Their work has led to at least 1 million new voter registrations in Georgia since 2016, indisputably paving the way for a Biden victory, which was confirmed on Thursday after a recount. Many Black voters in Georgia say they were motivated to vote this year after witnessing Abrams’ gubernatorial fight against Kemp two years ago (Abrams never conceded).
Visit mobilize.us/fairfight for volunteer opportunities and important dates. Phone and text bank training happens every Sun, Mon, Tues, and Thursday at various times. Training sessions take place on Zoom.
Volunteers will be calling or texting Georgia voters to make sure they have the information they need to make a plan to vote either by mail or in person. As a volunteer for Fair Fight, you would not be advocating for any candidate or political party.
2. Donate to Register2Vote
There are still at least 300,000 eligible Georgia citizens who are not registered to vote.
Georgia residents who will be 18 by election day (Jan. 5) are eligible to register and vote. It is believed that 20,000 potential voters fall into this category.
Vote Save America and Register2Vote have teamed up to send unregistered Georgia residents the materials they need to register to vote by the deadline on December 7. For every $2 donated, they can reach one unregistered voter in Georgia.
Go to votesaveamerica.com/registerga to donate.
You can also sign up for updates about the Georgia runoff election from Vote Save America.
If you are a Georgia resident and need to register to vote, you can do so here.
3. Text bank for Black to the Future
The Black to the Future Action Fund works to transform Black communities into constituencies that build Black political power in cities and states. They work to make Black communities powerful in politics through education, advocacy, and elections. Until election day, they are hosting weekly text banks to inform and energize Black voters. Volunteers will answer questions about voting by mail and advance in-person voting. For voters who are planning to cast their ballot on election day, volunteers will help them form a plan to do it safely. Sign up here.
The Biden/Harris victory is a huge win that has brought hope to many of us, but the fight for democracy is far from over. We have a lot of work ahead of us to cut through the divisiveness in America and ensure justice for all of our citizens and residents. Join our mailing list to receive our latest updates, access to free online events, and other opportunities designed to help progressive Christians and charities advocate for more compassionate, just solutions to our social crises.
