Update:
With 98% of the votes in for the Georgia runoff election, it looks like we might have a Democratic sweep.
Democrat Raphael Warnock won his runoff against Kelly Loeffler in a tight race that saw him receive 50.6% of the vote versus the 49.4% won by Kelly.
The race with Ossoff and Perdue is reportedly too close to call right now. However, Ossoff is winning and has already declared victory.
“It is with humility that I thank the people of Georgia for electing me to serve you in the United States Senate,” Ossoff said this morning.
“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.
“I will serve all the people of the state.”
If this victory holds up, Democrats will take control of the Senate.
This will have huge implications for stimulus relief as Democrats have been prioritizing bigger relief including larger stimulus checks.
We still need to wait for the official declaration of the winner but at this point it does look like Democrats may have swept an election that was originally largely in Republican’s favor.
Typically, the losing party of a presidential election has the better turn out in an election runoff.
Furthermore, many speculated that a lot of people turned out in November just to vote against Trump and because Trump was not on this ballot, they speculated fewer votes would be cast for Democrats.
But despite those factors, it looks like the GOP may have still lost.
If the GOP does end up losing both of these seats I do believe that it is largely because of the GOP’s reluctance to support more/bigger stimulus checks at a time with the majority of the country has voiced a need for more robust relief.
You can only ignore the public for so long….
So if you were holding out hope for more checks in the future, that scenario just got a lot more likely.
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This upcoming week is one of the most important weeks in recent memory. And in particular, January 5 which is the day of the Georgia senate runoff is the day to watch.
Currently in the Senate there are 48 Democrats and 50 Republicans. And in this election runoff, there are two seats up for grabs.
This means that if Democrats win these two seats, the Senate will be tied at 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats.
But as many of you probably know, the tiebreaker goes to the vice president who would be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
That would put control of the Senate in Democrats’ hands which would obviously mean a complete shift in power since Democrats also control the House and would control the White House as well.
So what is the current outlook on the runoff?
The latest polling shows both Democrats having a slight edge.
Race #1:
- Democrat Jon Ossoff: 48.7%
- Republican David Perdue: 47.5%
Race #2:
- Democrat Warnock: 49.1%
- Republican Loeffler: 47.3%
Typically, the political party that loses the presidential election has the leg up in an election runoff. This is because the loss motivates members of the losing party to show out in higher numbers.
But this year is a bit different because of all of the circumstances surrounding the stimulus bills.
The vast majority of Americans support the $2,000 stimulus checks and believe that the $600 checks are not enough. In fact, some people have even resorted to vandalizing the homes of politicians involved in this time of the stimulus talks.
Republicans, such as Mitch McConnell did a lot to keep the Senate from voting on the increased stimulus checks and most Americans blame him for why the checks did not happen.
In such a tight election, this could have an impact that swings the votes toward Democrats which is why I thought it was a very risky move.
The Republican candidates in Georgia did come out and support higher stimulus checks but their support came a little bit late and could be overshadowed by the opposition from the GOP as a whole.
If Democrats do sweep this election then it is extremely likely that there will be a lot more aid that goes out in a timely fashion.
We could definitely be looking at increased checks or perhaps a third round of stimulus checks.
If Republicans win it would not surprise me to see another long battle and the prospects of more checks, while not impossible, is much more slim, in my opinion.
So get ready to pay close attention to the election on January 5 and I will have updates as they happen.
Related
Stimulus check backlash from Americans
Here’s where $2,000 stimulus checks stand now
Last chance for $2,000 stimulus checks today

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.