Ossoff, Warnock will likely avoid recount in Georgia Senate runoffs, election official says
As Georgia counties continue processing ballots in the state’s three runoff races Wednesday, here’s the latest election news you need to know.
Democrats will likely avoid recount in Senate runoffs
Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, told reporters Wednesday morning that Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will likely avoid recounts in Georgia’s twin Senate runoffs.
“Jon Ossoff will likely have a margin outside half a percent to avoid a recount,” Sterling said. “And obviously, Rev. Warnock is ahead of him right now.”
As of 11:35 a.m., here’s a breakdown of the votes:
As of 10 a.m., these are ballots that remain outstanding. The numbers are subject to change:
Dekalb 17,902
Henry 9,078
Cobb 8,096
Chatham 5,318
Fulton 5,294
Gwinnett 5,068
Thomas 2,078
Bryan 1,515
Meriwether 1,325
Dougherty 1,200
Fayette 1,139
Forsyth 752
Lincoln 543
Clayton 528
Peach 524
Sterling also spent portions of the Wednesday news conference debunking claims made by President Donald Trump on Twitter about alleged election fraud in Georgia.
“These scoundrels are only toying with the@sendavidperdue (a great guy) vote,” one of Trump’s tweets reads. “Just didn’t want to announce quite yet. They’ve got as many ballots as are necessary. Rigged Election!”
There’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but a few things have been reported to state investigators, Sterling said.
“The biggest thing we’ve seen is from the president’s fertile mind of finding fraud where not exists,” he said. “We’ve seen nothing widespread. We’ve seen nothing that seems real in any way, shape or form.”
NYT reports Ossoff likely to win. But will he avoid a recount?
Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff took the lead from Republican Sen. David Perdue in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A second Democratic win appears likely, but the margin will be narrow.
The Associated Press has not declared a winner. But the New York Times reports Ossoff has a greater than 95% chance to win the election, and the estimated margin of victory is 1.1%. The Democratic challenger can avoid a recount if he defeats Perdue by more than 0.5%.
As of 10:30 a.m., the margin is:
Under Georgia law, a losing candidate can request a recount if the margin of victory is within 0.5% after the state certifies its election results. The recount would be done electronically, and the request must come within two business days following certification.
An election official could also request a recount, and a candidate may petition the Secretary of State to ask for one if there are suspected errors in the return. Counties will cover the cost of the recount.
Senator-elect Raphael Warnock is expected to win his race against incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler by 2.0%, according to the New York Times. Here’s the latest breakdown:
Capitol Beat News Service, a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation, has called the state’s Public Service Commission runoff. Republican Bubba McDonald defeated Democrat Daniel Blackman. With 99% of precincts reporting, the incumbent Republican was leading with 50.8% of the vote to Blackman’s 49.2%, according to unofficial results.
Ossoff pulls ahead in U.S. Senate race
In a YouTube video, Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff declared victory in the U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbent David Perdue Wednesday.
The Associated Press, which the Ledger-Enquirer and Telegraph rely on for political race calls, has not declared a winner. The vote count in Georgia is not yet complete, and Ossoff currently leads by a razor-thin margin.
As of 8 a.m., here’s the breakdown:
- Ossoff: 2,208,717 (50.19%)
- Perdue: 2,192,347 (49.81%)
Ossoff touched on the COVID-19 crisis and further economic relief in his three-minute virtual statement, and invoked the legacy of his late mentor Congressman John Lewis.
“I will serve all the people of the state. I will give everything I’ve got to ensuring that Georgia’s interests are represented in the U.S. Senate,” he said.
Warnock makes history
Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock defeated incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler in one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs.
The Associated Press called the election at 2 a.m. Wednesday. At that time, Warnock was ahead by about 36,000 votes, according to unofficial data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
He is the first Black person elected to a Senate seat in Georgia.
As of 7:30 a.m., here’s the vote breakdown with 98.7% of precincts reporting:
- Warnock: 2,208,580 (50.41%)
- Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler: 2,172,931 (49.59%)
The second Senate race between Republican incumbent David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff is still too close to call. Here’s the current breakdown of votes:
- Perdue: 2,191,369 (50.02%)
- Ossoff: 2,190,047 (49.98%)
All results from Georgia’s Secretary of State are unofficial until certified by the counties.
Ossoff’s campaign said early Wednesday they expect to win when all votes are counted. He’s scheduled to make virtual remarks about the race at 8 a.m. Check back for coverage later in the morning.
Perdue’s campaign is also confident in the incumbent’s chances, according to a statement.
“As we’ve said repeatedly over the last several weeks and as recently as this evening, this is an exceptionally close election that will require time and transparency to be certain the results are fair and accurate and the voices of Georgians are heard,” the statement reads. “We will mobilize every available resource and exhaust every legal recourse to ensure all legally cast ballots are properly counted. We believe in the end, Senator Perdue will be victorious.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Ossoff, Warnock will likely avoid recount in Georgia Senate runoffs, election official says."
