US: Ossoff wins in Georgia, Democrats control Congress

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Jon Ossoff won a runoff election late Wednesday for the US Senate in the state of Georgia, giving control of Congress to the Democrats, according to The Associated Press.

Ossoff gained 2,222,133 votes, or 50.3% in the southern state, while Republican incumbent David Perdue had 2,197,274 votes, or 49.7%.

Under Georgia law, however, a trailing candidate may request a vote recount when the margin of victory lies within 0.5 percentage points.

In the state’s other runoff, Raphael Warnock managed 50.7% of votes against incumbent Kelly Loeffler who had 49.3%.

The victory made Warnock the first Black senator in the history of Georgia, while he is the eleventh Black senator in US history. He also became the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Georgia in 20 years.

Ossoff's victory gave Democrats a 50-50 tie in the chamber and Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will act as a tiebreaker in the Joe Biden administration.

The Democrats retained control of the House of Representatives in the 2020 election.