Democrats Sweep the Senate in Historic Moment as Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock Projected to Win Georgia Runoff

Georgia Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock greet each other onstage

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images

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Updated: 2:50 PM PST, January 6, 2021

In a historic moment, Democrat opponent Raphael Warnock defeated his incumbent Republican opponent Kelly Loeffler in Georgia's Senate runoff race making him the state's first Black senator

The Senate has flipped in a historic U.S. moment after both Democratic candidates in the state of Georgia are projected to have won the long-anticipated runoff race. Democrat opponent Raphael Warnock defeated his incumbent Republican opponent Kelly Loeffler in Georgia's Senate runoff race making him the state's first Black senator, CBS News reported. Ossoff will be the first Jewish Senator from Georgia and will also be the youngest sitting U.S. Senator.

Ossoff was projected to have won Wednesday afternoon maintaining a small lead on Republican incumbent David Perdue. His victory was declared hours after Warnock's.

"I'm just so very grateful to the people of Georgia," Warnock said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning." "They sent a strong and clear message last night when they sent a person who grew up in public housing, one of 12 children in my family, I'm the first college graduate. That I am serving in the United States Senate in the few days pushes against the grain of so many expectations. But this is America."

"Everybody who cast your ballot, everybody who put your faith and confidence in our democracy's capacity to deliver the representation that we deserve — whether you were for me, or against me — I'll be for you in the U.S. Senate," Ossoff said according to NPR. "I will serve all the people of the state."

Warnock secured 50.7% of the vote, and Loeffler earned 49.3%. Warnock is new to the political scene, having run for senate as a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Warnock is ahead by 64,488 votes, with 98% of the total votes already reported.

Ossoff narrowly won the vote with 50.3% of the vote compared to 49.7% of the vote to Perdue, CBS reported. Ossoff is ahead by 27,075 votes, with 98% of the total votes already reported.

Perdue has not conceded from the race yet, NPR reported.

Runoff races are not applied to every state. Each state has varying laws on how to resolve a race when a candidate does not receive a majority of the vote. A majority of the vote would mean 50 percent plus one, according to CNN.

It's been 20 years since Georgia has elected a Democratic Senator, and the state hasn't elected any Democrat to any statewide office since 2006, according to the New York Times. Warnock is not only the state's first Black Senator, but he is the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate in the south,The New York Times reported

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Democrats Sweep the Senate in Historic Moment as Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock Projected to Win Georgia Runoff

In a historic moment, Democrat opponent Raphael Warnock defeated his incumbent Republican opponent Kelly Loeffler in Georgia's Senate runoff race making him the state's first Black senator

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