By: Brogan Frey
According to ballotpedia.org, on Election Day, in November, 35 senate seats were up for grabs. 14 seats held by Democrats, and 21 seats held by Republicans were up for election in 2022. One of those Democratic senate seats belonged to Senator, and Pastor, Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
Now may be a good time to explain what a runoff is. A runoff election occurs when no candidate running for a spot gets more than 50% of votes. That is what happened in the election between Raphael Warnock and Hershel Walker.
Something that I found very interesting about this race is the fact that this was not the first time that Senator Warnock had won a runoff race. Back in 2020, he ran against then-incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, and since neither candidate got 50% of the vote, that election went to runoff as well.
This election was a Special Senate election, because Loeffler had been appointed by Governor Brian Kemp to fill the remaining 2 years of the six year term previously being served by former Senator Johnny Isakson, who was elected in 2016 but resigned at the end of 2019, citing his health.
The fact that Senator Warnock has been a part of, and won 2, senate runoff elections is incredible, and also shows how split the state of Georgia is between being Democratic or Republican.
But on to the effect this election could have, and will have, on American politics.
This election gave the Democratic Party a very narrow advantage in the senate, with Democrats and the few similar voting Independents occupying 51 of the senate seats, with Republicans occupying the remaining 49.
Before this election, the senate was split evenly, with Vice President Kamala Harris being the tie breaker.
Now, with the majority, Democrats will be able to process legislation and nominations much faster, filling a Supreme Court vacancy would be easier, and Vice President Harris will not be needed as often to break up tied votes.
So, although the Democrats didn’t continue to hold the majority in the House of Representatives, they still have control of the White House and now the Senate, allowing them to get more bills passed more efficiently.
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