Explained: What is a runoff election that handed Democrats Senate majority with Georgia win?

In a defining victory for the Democrats, the party’s candidate Raphael Warnock defeated Republican rival Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election on Tuesday (6 December) to secure a six-year term.

With this, the Democratic Party will have a 51-49 majority in the US Senate.

Addressing supporters at an Atlanta hotel ballroom, incumbent Senator Warnock said as perAssociated Press (AP), “After a hard-fought campaign — or should I say campaigns — it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people have spoken”.

Warnock became the first Black senator elected from Georgia two years ago.

US president Joe Biden said on Twitter he called Warnock to congratulate him. “Tonight Georgia voters stood up for our democracy, rejected Ultra MAGAism, and most importantly: sent a good man back to the Senate,” Biden tweeted.

Conceding defeat, GOP candidate Walker – a former football star – said he is “never going to stop fighting for Georgia”, reportedBBC.

What is a runoff election and why was it necessitated? What do the results mean for Democrats and Republicans? We take a look.

What is a runoff election?

A runoff election is a special poll held after the general election when candidates fail to secure 50 per cent of the votes, saysUSA Today.

In such a case, a tiebreaker election is organised between the two nominees who bagged the most votes.

Georgia runoff election

The runoff was necessary after both Democratic and Republican candidates failed to bag 50 per cent votes in the midterm elections last month.

Reverend Warnock was ahead of former President Donald Trump-backed Walker by 37,000 votes out of the nearly four million ballots cast. However, he could not reach the 50 per cent threshold.

According to the law in Georgia, the runoff election has to be conducted within four weeks after the general election.

As many as 1.9 million votes were cast by mail and during early voting for the runoff election.

The voter turnout on 6 December was around 1.4 million, reportedAP.

A crucial victory for Democrats

As Warnock won Georgia, he added the 51st seat for Democrats in the Senate – a clear majority that will end the party’s dependency on Vice President Kamala Harris to break tie votes.

This means the party will have “smoother sailing” over the appointment of executive nominees and judges, saysNBC News.

As Republicans control the House of Representatives, this triumph has surely brought relief for the Democrats.

In the last two years, as the Senate had a 50-50 split, Democrats controlled the chamber with Harris’ tie-breaking vote. However, Republicans had an equal membership in Senate committees and thus they could impede laws, block subpoenas, as well as delay Biden’s executive and judicial appointments, notesBBC.

“It makes all the difference in the world,” Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, was quoted as saying byThe New York Times (NYT).

The victory in Georgia will allow Democrats to subpoena witnesses before Senate committees even if Republicans oppose.

“The subpoena power is going to be very important, especially as the House goes into overdrive on investigations,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, said as perNYT. “It will provide some check and balance”, he added.

Reuterssaid that Georgia has also become a battlefront state for the 2024 presidential election. The Democrats have won three Senate races in the past two years in the state which was earlier a Republican bastion.

In November 2020, Biden carried the state, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Bill Clinton in 1992.

ALSO READ:Democrats kept the Senate this year, but 2024 may be harder

Setback for Trump

Walker’s routing has come as a setback for Republicans as the Democrats will now enjoy full control over the Senate.

The football legend had Trump’s backing and his defeat complicated Trump’s run for the White House again in 2024.

The businessman had announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 in November earlier.

“为了让美国伟大和glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump had said at Mar-a-Lago, as perCNN.

Trump had promoted Walker and several other high-profile Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.

The former US president had given a “prominent speaking role” to Walker at the 2020 Republican National Convention, as perBBC.

ALSO READ:The US midterm elections and implications especially for India

Walker vs Warnock

Walker was a controversial candidate with many skeletons in the closet coming out during his campaigning. He was accused of paying for two former girlfriends’ abortions, even though the former football star has pushed for outlawing the procedure.

He also tried to portray Warnock as a “yes-man” for Biden, as perAP.

“My opponent is not a serious person,” Warnock had said during the campaign for the runoff polls. “But the election is very serious. Don’t get those two things confused”.

However, Warnock kept his distance from Biden, whose approval ratings have plunged amid high inflation, reportedAP.

Due to his status as senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock had expressed willingness to work “across the aisle and his personal values”, as perAP.

With inputs from agencies

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