Though the presidential election was settled months ago, the anticipation for how the next four years will turn out has not ceased, as the Georgia runoffs for the Senate election has had all of America on its toes. Just recently confirmed, both Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have won their races, splitting the Senate 50/50 and allowing Kamala Harris, president of the Senate, to be able to cast tie-breaking votes in future endeavors.

After growing up in a low-income household, Reverend Raphael Warnock was inspired to run for Senator to improve the lives of struggling families and hoping to provide equal opportunities for all.

The Senator-elect hopes to protect farmers, create new jobs, provide affordable healthcare and push for equal education for all. Warnock plans on addressing issues such as climate change and immigration, ending mass incarceration and fighting for women’s reproductive rights. His campaign was a success, as he beat his adversary by a significant margin thanks to the support of the Georgian people.

Kelly Loeffler, Warnock’s opponent, campaigned to protect the Second Amendment, address sex trafficking and fight the opioid epidemic. Taking an opposite stance to Warnock, Loeffler is pro-life and planned on protecting unborn children if she won the election.

Jon Ossoff also ran with many of the same goals as Warnock. Ossoff is planning on strengthening the Affordable Care Act, aiming to secure affordable health care for all. Furthermore, he wants to lower taxes and defend Roe V. Wade, a crucial case for women’s reproductive rights. Like Warnock, Ossoff intends on improving criminal justice and investing in infrastructure.

Ossoff’s opponent, David Perdue, shares many of the same ideologies as Loeffler did. If he won a seat in the Senate, Perdue planned on protecting the Second Amendment, fighting for pro-life legal procedures, strengthening critical infrastructure and supporting term limits.

A close race for both of them, more than eight million Georgian voters helped elect Warnock and Ossoff as their Senators. Warnock beat Loeffler by over 90,000 votes and Ossoff beat Perdue by more than 37,000.

“I am happy Ossoff and Warnock won both seats. This is a huge advantage to Biden and the Democratic party since it will allow for more democratic legislation to take place,” sophomore Sofia Rodriguez said.

What made the Georgia runoffs such an important election was that it would decide the fate of the Senate and by determining which party would control it. Only two months ago, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, a win for those who were none too pleased with current president, Donald Trump. Biden has promised to change much of what Trump has done and to work towards his more liberal goals. However, having the Senate controlled by the republican party would have made Biden’s agenda far more difficult to achieve, as he would face staunch resistance.

If the Senate would have retained its six year Republican majority, the president-elect would have faced strong opposition from the Republican party. Luckily for Biden and his supporters, both Democratic candidates won their elections, giving Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris the deciding vote in future votes the Senate holds.

“I am so glad they won. It is really in America’s best interest that they won since Kamala will now be the deciding vote for things,” sophomore Matteo Rocha-Chavez said.

This electoral season has already been quite an unusual one for Georgia, seeing as this is the first time since 1992 that the state has voted blue. But Georgia’s surprises do not end there. Because of Warnock’s win, Georgia now has their first Black senator ever. Warnock is also only the 11th Black senator in history. Warnock is elected to fill in for Johnny Isakson, former Senator who resigned in 2019 for health reasons. This means that Warnock will be a Senator until 2022, at which point he will have to run again.

In addition, Ossoff, at 33 years old, is currently the youngest Senator elected since 1973 when Biden won his Senate seat at only 30 years old. Ossoff is also the first millennial to ever be elected into the Senate, as well as the first Jewish Senator of Georgia.

Though called on Jan. 6, the results still have to be confirmed by Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, by Jan. 22 before Ossoff and Warnock can be sworn in. A noteworthy moment for not only Georgia, but much of America as well, the Georgia runoffs are surely ones to be remembered.