So by now, you’ve probably heard all the buzz about the Georgia Senate Runoff Races… or maybe you haven’t, but regardless, they’re imperative to gain some form of control in the senate. As of right now the Democrats (including 2 independent seats) have 48 seats, while Republicans have 50 seats. This means out of the total 100 seats, 51 would be the majority. However, you’re probably wondering what happens if there’s a tie. A 50-50 tie means if there’s a 50-50 vote, and the deciding vote would go to the vice-president: Kamala Harris! A democratic senate “majority” of this kind could help the administration make some life-changing decisions, which is why these two elections are paramount.
The candidates for the Georgia Senate are: incumbent Senator (R) Kelly Loeffler running against Reverend (D) Rafael Warnock, and incumbent Senator (R) David Perdue running against (D) Jon Ossoff. I urge you to read up on all the candidates and make an informed decision. Kelly Loeffler was never elected to the Senate, but appointed by current Georgia governor Kemp in January 2020. Additionally, she’s swerved to a “far-right” approach recently in order to gain supporters as well as local endorsements such as one from the alleged QAnon supporter and 14th District Representative elect (of Georgia), Marjorie Taylor Greene. This race will not be easy to win, just to be clear. Kelly Loeffler is one of the if not the richest politicians on Capitol Hill, and has ample amounts of money to campaign these coming weeks! Kelly Loeffler focuses on issues such as being a pro-lifer, her staunch second amendment views, and illegal immigration. Rafael Warnock focuses more on issues such as criminal justice reform, the LGBTQIA+ community, and reproductive justice.
Next up we have David Perdue and Jon Ossoff. David Perdue has a sea of corruption scandals after fending off multiple federal investigations because of dubious insider training. He also has said that “We get in an automobile, we drive on our public roads, and a certain number of us will die on our public roads every year, …. Well, each of us in a representative democracy have the freedom to make that determination about the risk level for me as an individual. And therefore, we choose to go or we choose not to go. In a situation like this, as long as we have good information, we can make our own decisions.” I implore you to realize the implications of comparing a deadly virus that has killed over 250K people to car accidents. Jon Ossoff was able to absolutely obliterate Perdue in a pre-election debate back in October, and now the latter refuses to debate the former in December before runoffs. Perdue’s platform endorses a six-week ban on abortions, a “we’ve done everything we could” stance on COVID-19, and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act while claiming his plan would insure those with preexisting conditions (which is false.) Ossoff a more moderate Democrat, but one who supports prison reform, abortion, and supports medicare expansion.
I’d like to make a plea to anyone who can help, to please help this monumental decision. I’m aware most of you don’t live in Georgia, so you unfortunately cannot vote for these two senators. However, there’re many different opportunities for both Warnock’s campaign as well as Ossoff’s campaign including but not limited to: textbanking, phone banking, and hosting virtual events! Now why does flipping the senate even matter? Well, I’m not here to promise everything will get much better, and I’m well aware of this. Progressive legislature will still be hard to pass given there are some very moderate Democratic senators, but a senate majority would allow Biden’s presidency to be significantly more effective. On the floor of congress are issues such as “Judicial nominees, a stimulus deal, infrastructure and health care measures, and tax and spending policies.” These are issues we can be more certain that a democratic senate majority would vote unanimously. This won’t be an easy battle with Republicans having a $28 million edge, and Republicans traditionally having an advantage at runoff races. But we CAN do this!
Lastly, please, if and when we win these seats please don’t get complacent. We need to advocate for the platforms we want to see in our future, and we need to hold the Biden presidency accountable to what they promised us and what they end up doing. Here’s Biden’s First 100 Days Plan. We WILL make change, that I am sure of!!!