World News – UK – Georgia Senate runoff election: America awaits election results that could change US politics

Polls show that victory is possible for the Democrats – and that would give Joe Biden a free hand in making political decisions

US correspondent
@ GregMilamSky

If the polling fever at the Dunbar Neighborhood Center polling station in Atlanta was a little reticent, the expectation of what it might mean was palpable

The steady stream of voters in the winter sunshine was the actor in a drama that could signal a significant change in American politics

If Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock can remove Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, the party will take effective control of the US Senate

In Georgia, a place that was once so reliably Republican red but turned blue for Joe Biden in November, it will have undergone a remarkable political shift

Mr. Ossoff came to greet the voters at the Dunbar Center but had to abandon his attempts because of the rush of the news team It is a measure of the interest in this runoff

The 33-year-old documentary filmmaker, who would be the youngest US Senator in 40 years, told Sky News: “We are on the verge of an historic victory in Georgia. We are about to stand for the people of Georgia and the Americans deliver “

In big cities like Atlanta, Democrats’ drive to increase voter turnout among younger, more diverse voters has paid off as the mood of change has reflected in voters

Shanna Green said: “For everyone I have in my life, it’s about pushing happier times, not necessarily going back to normal because normal wasn’t the best before, but hopefully moving to a better place”

Another voter, Tiffany Lay, said, “All the riot and picket line and all that police stuff, it all went big in Georgia when it turned blue”

Elector Leonard Cherry no doubt spoke for many Americans by saying, “The purpose for me was to vote so that we can now put our differences aside and come together as a nation

“If we have the right people with the right temperament in office, we could get back together. But it doesn’t happen overnight”

But large parts of Georgia remain decidedly Republican, and that means a victory for Democrats, which polls suggest is possible, would be of particular importance

The tension Republicans faced over whether to adjust too closely to a defeated Donald Trump was a factor in this campaign

His complaints about the electoral process – including during a rally in Georgia on Monday – did little to excite the voters Republicans need

Political strategist Fred Hicks said, “Republicans are looking at this and they say the 3rd November was a reprimand from Donald Trump, but we Republicans did well

“If this election goes in favor of the Democrats with even one seat, that’s a big statement and a big problem for the Republicans”

© 2021 Sky UK

Georgia, Georgia elections, Kelly Loeffler, Jon Ossoff