Georgia runoff: What's at stake as voters head to the polls on Tuesday trends now
Georgia voters are deciding today whether to give Senate Democrats an extra seat to cushion their majority in next year's Congress.
Holding 51 seats in the Senate would mean Democrats gain decisive control over all committees and lessen the influence of any one lawmaker within the party who chooses to dissent from the party line.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, a reverend who leads the congregation Martin Luther King Jr. once did, spent his last day before the election energizing voters with a DJ dance party at an Atlanta brewery
Donald Trump-backed former NFL star Herschel Walker, his challenger, spent Monday night with supporters at a gun range in rural Cobb County.
Neither candidate secured a majority of the vote in the November 8 midterms, pushing them into a runoff election on Tuesday that's being watched across the nation.
Polls opened at 7am in the East Coast state and close at 7pm.
Photos show a rainy Atlanta morning as voters armed with umbrellas line up before the sunrise to cast a ballot.
With the race expected to be tight, it's possible a winner may not be called until Wednesday or later.
Last month, President Joe Biden's party defied expectations to retain control of the Senate despite a myriad of polls suggesting a Republican landslide in both chambers of Congress.
Polls opened at 7am in Georgia and will close at 7pm for the Senate runoff election on Tuesday
Peach State voters lined up outside of polling stations before the sunrise for the nationally-watched election
Neither Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican challenger Herschel Walker netted the majority threshold needed to avoid today's race
If Walker wins on Tuesday, not much will change in the dynamics of the Senate.
Democrats' victory in flipping Pennsylvania's red Senate seat to blue ensures that they'll still have a 50-50 split, even if Warnock loses.
But a victory by the progressive pastor would give Democrats a decisive majority without needing Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote.
Under current rules, Harris' position gives Democrats the majority.
On the committee level, however, both parties operate under a power-sharing agreement with an even number of senators on each side.
A 51-seat majority would give Democrats an extra seat over Republicans on Senate committees, enabling a smoother confirmation process for Biden's appointments to the
