The world turned upside down. Last night, the polls closed for the 2021 Senate runoff elections here in Georgia. Incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler attempted to fend off challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively. After months of anticipation, polling, and campaigning, we finally have a definitive result and outcome for this all-important election. Both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have been declared victors by Decision Desk HQ, securing a 50-50 Senate with Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote and a Democratic majority in the Senate. It feels like a dream.
Watching Georgia shift left over the years has been satisfying and inspiring. I never would have thought four or eight years ago that a Democratic presidential candidate would win this state, let alone win two Senate elections in the process. While I believe that time moves the country in the direction of progress, it’s interesting to try to unambiguously determine the factors that helped decide this election in favor of the Democratic candidates. I believe this can be credited to President Trump’s attacks on democracy, two largely unpopular Republican candidates in Perdue and Loeffler (especially the latter), and Stacey Abrams’ support of two solid candidates.
Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 Presidential election was rigged in Joe Biden’s favor. In doing so, he has delegitimized and negated the importance of each individual vote. Many of his supporters believed that their vote held no significance, and decided not to vote altogether. The rallies he held prior to the election, which were supposed to show support for the Republican candidates, wound up being complaining fests as Trump reflected on what he delusionally believes was a stolen election. That being said, even if he had shown more support for Perdue and Loeffler, it might not have made a difference.
Polls prior to the election showed that Perdue was trailing Ossoff less than Loeffler trailed Warnock. I credit this to Perdue’s actual incumbency, in that he had previously won an election to secure his seat in the Senate. Loeffler, on the other hand, was a Trump appointee who never won elected office, and instead was vying to secure her first victory in these runoffs. Both of these candidates made dubious and questionable decisions along the campaign trail, including when Loeffler likened herself to Atilla the Hun, when Perdue was photographed flashing a white power hand gesture, and when both candidates gave terrible debate performances and openly opposed further COVID-19 stimulus for Georgians, among many others. So the Republicans definitely messed things up for themselves, but how did Democrats break their runoff / mid-term dry spell habit of low voter turnout? Simple. Stacey Abrams.
The woman is a national treasure. Her ability to build a network of organizations dedicated to registering new voters from underrepresented communities ensured that over 800,000 Georgia residents were going to vote in these elections. With margins as small as the ones seen in Biden’s, Ossoff’s, and Warnock’s victories, it’s hard not to say that Abrams was a deciding factor. I hope that she decides to run for governor again in 2022 against Brian Kemp, and if she does, I like her odds. Georgia could be the next Virginia.
After growing up in Illinois and living in Georgia for the past eight or so years, it feels good to say I live in a blue state again. Attacks on Democracy, minorities, and common sense legislation just don’t work on an increasingly left-leaning population in Georgia anymore. I sincerely hope that a Democratic trifecta leads to the passing of meaningful and substantial legislation, and as a progressive, I won’t be afraid to call out the Democratic party if they stall on getting things done. For now, though, let’s celebrate the fact that Democrats took all three branches of government, and that they will take things over in just a couple weeks. Light at the end of the tunnel… finally.
