Full Translation to the Article
Two United State Senate seats are on the line in the upcoming runoff elections in the State of Georgia. If the Democrats win both of these races, US Senate will flip blue, fueling the incoming Biden Administration with a strong momentum to drive key agendas.
Key Summary: If the Democrats allow the GOP to take either of these seats, the Biden Administration would have trouble pushing for progressive agendas such as renewable energy transition, child care subsidies and infrastructure overhaul. The Democrats are hoping for a close victory in both races: the voter support for Democrats have expanded during the last few years in the American South, a region that have been a Republican stronghold for decades.
Who’s going to take the Senate?: The runoffs will determine the Senate’s fate. A Democrat victory will ensure its control of the both chambers and the white house for the next two years.
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On November 3, Americans not only elected a new president but also its Senators and members of the House of Representatives. No candidates received a majority of votes for the US Senate races in Georgia, which triggered two runoffs scheduled for January 5. In the US, every state has a right to determine its own election rules.
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What Biden Administration can pull through in the next two years depends on these Senate runoffs. As of now, Republicans have 50 Senates seats; Democrats, 48. If the Democrats win the runoffs and add two seats, the Senate will be equally divided along the party lines. When vote tallies are equal in the Senate, the tie-breaking vote goes to the Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democrat victory in these races will in practice flip the chamber blue.
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A Democratic failure to secure a Senate majority will place a high hurdle for the incoming Biden Administration. The Democrats are planning to push for key reforms as a part of “budget reconciliation” to bypass a Republican filibuster and pass bills pertaining to federal budget with a simple majority, all of which would be rendered impossible if the Democrats fail to secure the two Senate seats in Georgia. Senate confirmation hearings would also go adrift, forcing Biden to negotiate and compromise on his cabinet members, US attorneys and district court judge nominees.
From the Republican Stronghold to Swing States: The races are as tight as it can get, with the Democratic candidates leading by a single percentage point or less as of December 30. The American South including Georgia has leaned heavily Republican. However, the trends are shifting with Asian-American voters playing a part in some states.
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In the US, “the South” refers to former Confederate States in the country’s Southeast that succeeded from the Union during the American Civil War for the status quo of keeping slavery. These states include Georgia, Virginia and Texas, among many others. From the 1960s, the South remained a Republican stronghold, as the President Lyndon B. Johnson of the Democratic Party pushed for Civil Rights Act that ended racial segregation.
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Recently, however, the Republican advantage in the South is shaking. In November, Biden pulled off a razor-thin victory in the State of Georgia for the first time in 28 years. The growing urban population had played a key role. The Southern electorate is changing as big cities grow in size with Asian immigrants and those moved in from other regions.
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Democratic activists’ strong push for voting rights and voter registration contributed greatly to the seismic electoral shift. They encouraged Asian and Black urban residents who had not participated in elections to register and vote in the 2018 races, tightening the Republican leads to mere 2~3 percentage points.
The Hopeful Democrats: The liberal candidates, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock and Jon Ossoff, are also ahead in campaign contributions. The Democratic candidates each raised more than $100 million, while their Republican rivals, Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue, fell behind at $64 million and $68 million, respectively.
