The 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020 and on January 5, 2021 (as a runoff), to elect the Class II member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue in the runoff election. The general election was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as with other elections to the Senate, elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

No candidate received a majority of the vote during the general election on November 3, so the top two finishers—Perdue (49.73%) and Ossoff (47.95%)—advanced to a runoff election, held on January 5, 2021. The runoff was held concurrently with the special election for the Georgia U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Kelly Loeffler and challenged by Raphael Warnock, which had also advanced to a runoff, and which Warnock won. Following the 2020 U.S. Senate elections, Republicans held 50 Senate seats and the Democratic caucus held 48, including two independents who caucus with the Democrats. These runoffs decided control of the United States Senate under the incoming Biden administration. In the event that the Democrats won both seats, Democratic vice president-elect Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote would give the Democrats a majority. The extraordinarily high political stakes caused the races to attract significant attention nationwide and globally.

On January 6, 2021, most major news outlets projected Ossoff the winner. Perdue conceded the race on January 8. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, this campaign was the most expensive in U.S. Senate history, with over $468 million spent. Ossoff’s victory, along with Warnock’s, will give the Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2015. When Ossoff takes office, he will be the first Democrat elected to a full term in the Senate from Georgia since Max Cleland, who held this seat from 1997 to 2003. Georgia election officials certified Jon Ossoff’s victory on January 19, 2021; he was sworn in on January 20.

Sources and further reading:

Georgia Senate Runoffs: What to Watch For

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/georgia-race-guide.html

Georgia election results: Why two wins are huge for Biden

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-55555576