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      How Black voters lifted Georgia Democrats to Senate runoff victories

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      Black voters showed up in record numbers for Georgia’s Senate runoff election on Tuesday, handing the Democratic Senate candidates the Rev Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff decisive victories against the Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively.According to the Associated Press, more than 4.4m votes were cast, about 88% of the number who voted in November’s contest, when turnout was 68% overall.Just weeks after flipping the conservative stronghold in the general election, local strategists and community organizers across the state are being credited with once again galvanizing a voting bloc critical in delivering Democrats’ victory.“Black runoff turnout was phenomenal and the [Donald] Trump base just couldn’t keep up,” the political analyst Dave Wasserman tweeted shortly after being one of the first to call the race for Warnock.Tuesday’s win makes the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist church the first Black senator from Georgia and the first Black Democrat in a former Confederate state since Reconstruction. The milestone is considered by some analysts to be a factor in the surge in participation.Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise, given the stakes of the race and the political moment, but this was a remarkable and high turnout. I mean, yea, there was probably slightly more Trump vote dropoff–see the result–but the turnout in >80% Trump areas was still at 88% of general— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) January 6, 2021
      Black voters in the state were the deciding force in both Democratic victories, particularly in urban and rural communities with large Black populations. Typically, these groups are less likely to vote in state and local contests than their white counterparts.The runoffs garnered national attention after Black voters – along with new Georgia residents of all races – successfully flipped the state from reliably Republican to a competitive purple in November, with the Democrat Joe Biden narrowly winning over the incumbent president by more than 11,000 votes.“The margins are so small that every action, including your vote, matters and will make a difference,” Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, told CNN. “Black voters got that message. Black voters recognized that we need to complete the task.”According to exit polls, turnout for the Senate races was high overall, reaching more than 80% of the turnout in the November general election. That rate was slightly higher in predominantly Black districts.Roughly 93% of Black voters supported Ossoff and Warnock. Ossoff earned 92% of Black voters in Tuesday’s contest compared with 87% in November. According to NBC data, Warnock won 92% of Black voters against Loeffler.Meanwhile, although Republicans Loeffler and Perdue received 71% of the white vote, turnout was slightly down from the general election.“Democrats need to get at least 30% of the white vote to be competitive in any race,” Andra Gillespie, political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, told the Guardian. “But Black voter turnout, when reaching record levels, will ultimately decide the race every time.”Gillespie noted that as Georgia continues to attract young, more liberal populations, residents will see many competitive election cycles to come. According to Pew Research Center, the Black voting bloc has grown to make up a third of Georgia’s electorate in the last two decades. Other analysts also credit new Black residents with making more southern states like North Carolina, and Texas and Florida more competitive.Black women did this—but this isn’t just “Black Girl Magic.” This is the result of pure organizing, labor, and love that Black women have poured into GA.Gratitude to every one of my sisters who willed the possibilities of this moment into existence. We see you and we love you.— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 6, 2021
      Front and center amid post-election praise are the former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and the Black Voters Matter founder LaTosha Brown, who, along with Black grassroots organizations, have led campaigns to reach hundreds of thousands of Georgia residents since November’s general election.“Across our state, we roared,” Abrams tweeted as votes were counted, calling on Georgians to “celebrate the extraordinary organizers, volunteers, canvassers & tireless groups that haven’t stopped going”.Adopting a strategy that Brown called “meeting voters where they are”, voting rights activists spent the last weeks traveling to typically low-turnout areas to knock on doors, register voters and combat an onslaught of conservative disinformation attempts.Many advocates say these get-out-the-vote efforts were effective in driving Black voters who otherwise wouldn’t have voted, or perhaps didn’t in November. According to a state vote tracker, more than 100,000 Georgians who didn’t vote in the presidential requested a mail-in ballot for the runoff.Georgia residents largely rejected Republicans Loeffler and Perdue, who backed Trump’s conspiracy theories questioning the election’s legitimacy. Just this week, leaked audio revealed that the president had urged Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” votes that would overturn the election.The president and campaign surrogates have launched dozens of legal challenges, primarily in cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit, alleging fraud.In the same vein, both Loeffler and Perdue have refused to concede so far, challenging election results and calling on officials to count every legal vote. Meanwhile, Raffensperger has maintained that the election was secure and the results accurate.Activists argue schemes to toss out votes in primarily Black, Democratic strongholds follow a history of Republican efforts to disenfranchise primarily African Americans.For Georgia activists, Black voters flipping the state and reclaiming Democratic control of the Senate reinforces African Americans’ influence in the conservative south when they show up to the polls.“Black voters matter,” Brown succinctly tweeted. More

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      in Elections

      Jon Ossoff wins Georgia runoff election, giving Democrats control of Senate

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      [embedded content]
      The Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff has won his Senate runoff election, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the opening of Joe Biden’s presidency.
      Ossoff’s victory against David Perdue, was called by the Associated Press late on Wednesday, and follows fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock’s victory against incumbent Kelly Loeffler.
      With the victories of Ossoff and Warnock, the US Senate is now 50-50.
      Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will serve as the tie-breaking 51st vote, giving Democrats control of the chamber for the first time since 2015.
      A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr preached, Warnock’s victory makes him the first Black senator in his state’s history.
      The results were a stinging rebuke of Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind the state’s Republican candidates.
      In an emotional address early on Wednesday, Warnock vowed to work for all Georgians whether they voted for him or not, citing his personal experience with the American dream. His mother, he said, used to pick “somebody else’s cotton” as a teenager.
      “The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”
      The Democrats were propelled to victory in Senate runoff elections by Black voters, young voters and new arrivals to the rapidly diversifying state, a coalition just strong enough to topple a long-dominant GOP and take control of the US Senate.

      Black voters cast 32% of the ballots, a slight increase from the presidential election two months ago, according to AP VoteCast. As in November, almost all – 94% – of those votes went for Democrats. Black voters accounted for about 60% of ballots for Democrats, according to the survey of 3,700 voters in the runoff elections.
      Voters under the age of 45 also broke for Democrats, as did suburban voters, women, low-income voters and voters who have lived in the state fewer than five years, a group that cast about 60% of their votes for Democrats.
      The coalition closely mirrored the one that handed Georgia’s electoral college votes to President-elect Joe Biden, the first Democrat to win the state since 1992. In defeating Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, Democrats will have half the seats in the chamber, leaving Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris to serve as tie-breaker.
      The high-stakes runoffs drew hundreds of millions of dollars, media attention and a massive organizing effort. The result was a game of inches – both Republicans and Democrats largely held their voters from November, the survey showed, but Democrats did just slightly better in pushing their voters to the polls.
      The GOP candidates won an overwhelming majority – almost three-quarters – of white voters and 60% of voters 65 and older. They also captured majorities from voters earning $75,000 or more. That coalition in the recent past likely would have been enough to keep Perdue and Loeffler in the Senate. But shifting demographics and an energized Democratic party have turned the tables. More

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      ‘The new south’: Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia's first Black senator

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      The Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta has witnessed tides of history ebb and flow during its 134 years. Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights leader, often preached here. Now its pastor, Raphael Warnock, has added a new chapter by becoming the first African American senator from Georgia.The storied church was firmly closed as votes were tallied on Tuesday night and its doors were plastered with coronavirus warnings, but there was a palpable surge outside as expectation turned to elation.“We know that Georgia is in the midst of a great change,” said Cheryl Johnson, a voting engagement activist and community historian. “We believe that we can lead the country forward as we have always led the country in many different ways. We have a history of great leadership. We have always been change makers.”Johnson, 54, has heard the deep-voiced Warnock preach at the church.“He can break it down intellectually but when it comes to talking about the issues that impact our community – social justice issues, homelessness, healthcare issues, police reform – he comes in the tradition of the Baptist church, which is passionate, engaged. He challenges people to think, who are you and, if you say that you are this, what does that mean?” she said.Opposite the church a sign announces the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park. Beside it is King’s tomb, surrounded by a reflection pool near an eternal flame. In contrast to the unfolding drama in election offices across the state, the memorial was silent and still on Tuesday night.Warnock’s staff were watching the count anxiously at a campaign office and bar behind the church, which is in the former district of Congressman John Lewis, another civil rights hero who died last summer. Ifeanyichukwu “Chuke” Williams, 24, co-owner of a nearby clothing store and recording studio, said: “There is definitely a connection there: it’s in the ether. In a way Warnock is taking up the mantle, taking up the reins, trying to be the change.”Jalen Smith, 26, a chef at a home for the elderly, added: “I didn’t vote but I’m familiar with the people and probably would have voted for Warnock. It’s good to see more Black politicians getting in and making a difference. He’s done a lot for the Black community and shown that he actually cares about people.”Warnock, 51, defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, an ardent Trump supporter who boasted she was more conservative than Attila the Hun. In a speech to his supporters on Wednesday, Warnock paid tribute to his 82-year-old mother, Verlene Warnock, who as a young woman spent summers on a south Georgia farm picking cotton and tobacco.Georgia, where about a third of the population is Black, voted Democratic at November’s presidential election for the first time since 1992 and is on the verge of delivering the Democrats control of the Senate. It has seen years of voter registration efforts, including to engage liberals from other states who moved to Atlanta for work.It is a state, and a region, in cultural, demographic and political transition. Georgia was a linchpin of the Confederacy during the civil war and bears the scars of slavery, segregation and hundreds of lynchings. But it was also the birthplace of King and a key theatre of the civil rights struggle.It is now home to a booming TV and film industry dubbed the “Hollywood of the South”. Once famous for local author Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, the superhero movie Black Panther, which proved a huge hit with African American cinemagoers, is now a more fitting symbol.After voting on a sunny but crisp Tuesday, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff, who worked as an intern for Lewis, stood under a tree outside a community centre and told reporters: “I’m a John Lewis Democrat, I’m a civil rights Democrat and that’s the kind of Democrat that’s running in the south right now.“Think about how far we’ve come in the American south that the Democratic standard bearers in these races are the young Jewish son of an immigrant and a Black pastor who holds Dr King’s pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist church. That is the new south.” More

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      'I’ll be for you': Jon Ossoff thanks Georgia as election draws to close – video

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      The Democratic candidate has given a speech thanking the people of Georgia for electing him to the US Senate before the final tally is formally announced.
      In his speech, Jon Ossoff asked the country to unite to beat the coronavirus pandemic and said he would fight both for people who voted for him and those who did not in the second of two runoff elections in Georgia
      US Georgia senate election: latest updates More

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      'I will fight for you': Democrat Raphael Warnock declares victory in Georgia Senate runoff – video

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      Shortly after midnight, Rev Raphael Warnock delivered a message of hope to Georgians and declared his win in the Senate runoff election: ‘Whether you voted for me or not – know this: I see you. I hear you. And I will fight for you.’ He beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, a Trump loyalist. This is the first time for 24 years that a Democrat will represent Georgia in the Senate
      Georgia Senate runoffs: Democrat Raphael Warnock wins against Kelly Loeffler
      Georgia runoffs: Democrat Raphael Warnock wins in Senate battle – live More

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      Republicans face test of loyalty to Trump as Congress meets to certify election

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      After four years of defending and emboldening Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress on Wednesday will face their most consequential test of loyalty yet: to indulge the president’s brazen and meritless bid to overturn the results an election he lost, or to uphold the democratic process and certify Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.A handful of congressional Republicans are preparing to object to the certification of the electoral college results when Congress meets on Wednesday, turning what is traditionally a perfunctory affair into Trump’s last stand. Their coordinated rebellion, unprecedented in modern times, is all but destined to fail and Biden will be inaugurated on 20 January.In his increasingly desperate bid to cling to power, Trump, who has not conceded, has spent the last several weeks attempting to enlist allies and pressure public officials to overturn Biden’s 306-232 election win. His machinations escalated this weekend when he pressured the Georgia secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensberger, to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s win in the state.As required by the constitution, the joint session of Congress will meet to count the electoral votes. The votes will be delivered to the chamber in mahogany boxes and read aloud in alphabetical order of the states, with Mike Pence over the meeting. At the conclusion of the count, it is the vice-president who finally, formally declares the winner.Around the Capitol, authorities are bracing for “stop the steal” protests they fear could turn violent. Trump, who has encouraged his followers to join the gathering even as coronavirus cases surge across the country, said he plans to attend, as do several of his allies and a number of far-right groups, including the Proud Boys.Trump has been pressuring Pence to simply reject the vote count. On Tuesday, Trump claimed that “the vice-president has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors”. This is false.A handful of Trump loyalists in the House have been planning this showdown for weeks. But in recent days the effort gained support from a quarter of Senate Republicans, first from Josh Hawley, an ambitious first-term Republican from Missouri. Days later, a coalition of Republican senators and senators-elect led by the Texas senator Ted Cruz announced their opposition to certifying Biden’s win unless Congress agrees to a 10-day audit of the election results, which is highly unlikely.On Monday, the Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler, vying to keep her seat, announced that she too would object. (David Perdue, the other Republican candidate in Georgia, supports the effort but will not vote because his term expired on Sunday.)In the House, where the effort is led by the Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, Republicans said the plan to voice objections to Biden’s wins in six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.To succeed, an objection must come from both a member of the House and the Senate. Hawley has said he planned to object to the results from Pennsylvania, while Cruz plans to object to the results in Arizona. Both are considered presidential contenders in 2024, seeking to ingratiate themselves with Trump’s fervent base.The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, sought to avoid this internecine showdown, keenly aware of the political blowback members of his caucus will face – either for defying the president or attempting to subvert the will of millions of voters. Several Senate Republicans have condemned the effort – more than enough needed to ensure the campaign will fail. The Republican senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has called it a “dangerous ploy”. And Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, one of the states that is expected to draw an objection, denounced what he said was his colleagues “effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in my state and others”.All 50 states have certified the election results after a number of closely contested states conducted post-election audits and recounts to ensure their accuracy. Courts at every level, including the supreme court, have rejected dozens of lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies to challenge the results.None of the senators who plan to reject the results of the election have come forward with specific allegations of fraud. Instead they have pointed to public opinion polls that show, after weeks of the president and his allies insisting the election was stolen from him, their supporters believe the election was “rigged” as evidence that further investigation was needed. More