Even though the 2020 presidential election results are almost certified, the nation still does not know who will take control of the Senate. As of December 2, 2020, the political makeup of the Senate is 46 Democrats and 50 Republicans. However, since there are two registered Independent senators (Angus King and Bernie Sanders), the political makeup is essentially 48 Democrats and 50 Republicans because the two Independents generally side with Democrats.
On January 5, 2021, Georgia will have two runoff elections to see who will get the remaining two Senate seats. For Democrats to achieve a majority in the Senate, they must win both elections to make the political makeup 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Hypothetically, the Democrats can achieve a majority vote through a 50-50 split if every Senator votes on party lines.
If the vote count is a tie, then the vice president will be the tiebreaker. Since the next vice president will most likely be Kamala Harris, she will vote in favor of the Democrats, thus securing a Senate majority until the 2022 midterm elections.
On the other hand, the Democrats managed to maintain a majority in the US House of Representatives. This means that if the Democrats managed to secure a majority in the Senate, then the Democrats would have control over both congressional branches and the Executive Branch. While the Supreme Court would technically still have a 6-3 conservative majority, a Biden administration could pack the court if the Senate goes blue.
As of December 14, 2020, the polls have the two candidates neck and neck with Democrat Jon Ossoff (48.5%) leading Republican Perdue (47.5%) and Democrat Warnock (48.5%) leading Democrat Loeffler (46.9%).
In a recent website poll conducted to target LCHS students, of the 150 respondents, 56% replied a Democratic majority Senate would be better for the country, while 44% disagreed.
Whichever political party obtains the Senate majority will ultimately determine the fate of this nation for at least the next few decades.
