The November 3 results are in or at least most people believe the results are in and that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been duly elected as our next President and Vice-President. President Trump continues talking about fraud in a few states but it appears that even if there are some instances of ballot problems there most likely isn't enough to change the outcome of the election. What was more interesting was how badly the pollsters once again missed the predictions of a Biden -Harris landslide. The only states where Trump was polling well were in the Deep South, states like Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. Why did this happen in 2016 and again in 2020? Maybe Republicans aren't telling pollsters the truth or maybe the sampling is skewed but whatever it is, the pollsters need to do some serious research as to what happened before 2022. Or maybe before January 5, 2021. What happens then? Nothing much except control of the U.S. Senate!
In a really strange turn of events, both U.S. Senate seats will be decided on January 5 because Georgia has a runoff law and both their seats were up due to the resignation of Sentor Johnny Isakson. That seat pits an African-American, Pastor Raphael Warnock, who is the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, which happens to be the church where Dr. Martin Luther King attended. Warnock came to political prominence in the attempt to expand Medicaid under ObamaCare. He faces Senator Kelly Loeffler, the current Senator who was appointed to the Senate by the Republican Governor to fill out Senator Isakson's term. She was the CEO of Bakkt, a commodity and financial services provider owned by her husband. She also co-owns the Atlanta Dream, a WNBA basketball team. Current thought is that Pastor Warnock will mobilize the African-American vote in Atlanta and Georgia and it will be a close race.
The other race for the US Senate will see incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue face Democrat Jon Ossoff. Perdue actually garnered mroe votes than Ossoff in the Nov. 3 race but in Georgia, if neither candidate gets 50% of the vote, there is a runoff. Perdue got just under 50% so that makes Georgia the center of the universe right now. One can only imagine the amount of money that will be spent in Georgia between now and January 5. If the recent Senate races are any indication, it could be hundreds of millions. In South Carolina, the Democrat nominee Jamie Harrison spent over $105 million trying to unseat incumbent Senator Lindsay Graham to no avail. Same in Kentucky trying to unseat Leader Mitch McConnell. So just think about two seats that give control of the US Senate to either the Democrats or Republicans. Either party will have a very slim margin regardless who wins. But 51-49 is still a majority and to the winner goes the spoils and Senate Majority Leader.
You can bet President-Elect Biden will be campaigning hard in Georgia since he wants his agenda that he promised during the elections to be implemented. He needs control of both the House and Senate to make sure that happens. The Republicans likewise want to prevent promised tax increases, the Green New Deal, Supreme Court packing, and can only do that effectively with control of the US Senate. There are no guarantees even with a one or two majority because you have Senators Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski who on occasion stray from the Republican agenda. Will President Trump get involved in Georgia and if he does, will it help or hurt? Georgia was finally "called" for Biden-Harris, the first time in decades that a Democrat carried the state. It's clear what was once known as "the Solid South" is no longer solid and that makes my Party nervous when it comes to Georgia's Senate races.
So hang on to your hats it's going to be a wild ride in Georgia. You just thought all those political ads were finally over. In Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama and even Florida, the TV stations will be overrun with ads all through our holiday season. I've been getting at least 20-30 texts a day asking for money for both those races. I probably will give because I prefer a divided governent if I'm perfectly honest. It seems to work better when everyone has to compromise some. Stay tuned, there is more to come.