Kamala Harris Will Serve as Senate Tiebreaker as Democrats Sweep Georgia Runoff Elections

All eyes are on Georgia as we wait for the Georgia runoff Senate elections to be confirmed. Democrat Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, making him the first Black person elected to represent Georgia in the Senate. He will also be one of only three Black senators once his term begins. Jon Ossoff, the other Georgia Democratic candidate, is expected to defeat Republican incumbent David Perdue, which would make the 33-year-old Atlanta native the youngest member of the Senate.

Although Ossoff’s race has yet to be called, he accepted his victory Wednesday morning, January 6. “It is with humility that I thank the people of Georgia for electing me to serve you in the United States Senate,” he said. Perdue has yet to concede. 

If Ossoff does beat Perdue, that would give Republicans and Democrats equal control in the Senate. With President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the White House, that means Harris, the Senate president, will serve as the tiebreaker.

Warnock and Ossoff supporters have been expressing their excitement on social media. “When @KamalaHarris is presiding in the Senate, she will be addressed as Madam President. Process that. Practice that,” Washington Post columnist Donna F. Edwards tweeted.

Another supporter wrote, “One last thought before sleep overtakes me. Kamala Harris running up the Capitol steps in her Converse to break tie after tie.”

Others made plans to celebrate the win with some drinks… actually, a lot of drinks. “If georgia turns the Senate blue, I’m gonna take 50 shots then one more, as a tie breaker,” one user tweeted.

“Remember when Purdue pretended not to be able to pronounce @KamalaHarris’ name?” political strategist and commentator Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas tweeted. “Remember McConnell refused to recognize Biden’s and Kamala’s victory for over a damn month? Well, looks like Kamala is going to break the tie and exile McConnell to minority island. It is so sweet.”

The increase in Georgia voter turnout can be partly attributed to Black women-led voter registration groups, like Stacey Abrams’s New Georgia Project and Black Voters Matter, which worked to register new voters and to protect people from voter suppression. “With new votes joining the tally, we are on a strong path,” Abrams tweeted on January 6. “But even while we wait for more, let’s celebrate the extraordinary organizers, volunteers, canvassers, & tireless groups that haven’t stopped going since Nov. Across our state, we roared. A few miles to go…but well done!”