Perdue, Ossoff head to Georgia US Senate runoff
ATLANTA (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff will face off in a Jan. 5 runoff in Georgia for Perdue’s Senate seat, one of two high-profile contests in the state that could determine which party controls the upper chamber.
Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel was able to get enough votes so that neither Perdue nor Ossoff was able to clear the 50% threshold needed for an outright win.
Thousands of
absentee ballots and in-person votes cast early needed to be counted
after Election Night passed, forcing a long and tense wait before the
race could be called.
The contest will be one of two in Georgia in January that are likely to settle which party would control the Senate.
Democrat
Raphael Warnock and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the Republican appointed last
year after Sen. Johnny Isakson retired, will also compete in a runoff on
the same day.
Nationally, the Senate stands at 48-48. But
Republicans lead uncalled races in Alaska and North Carolina, so the
ultimate balance is likely to come down to what happens in the Georgia
runoffs.
Both sides promised unlimited funds would flow to the
campaigns and onto the airwaves, and they predicted an all-star cast of
campaigners for a state that in recent weeks drew visits from Democratic
presidential nominee Joe Biden, President Donald Trump, Vice President
Mike Pence, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and
former President Barack Obama.
The race between Ossoff and Perdue,
a close ally of Trump, has been characterized by sharp attack ads but
relatively moderate political positions.
Both candidates pivoted
to the middle vying for a state Trump won handily four years ago, but
where swaths of suburbia have shown signs of disillusionment with the
president.
Perdue sought to cast Ossoff as backing a “radical socialist agenda,” while Ossoff portrayed Perdue as a “corrupt” Washington insider who has been part of a botched pandemic response.
Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report.