The Georgia Senate runoff races are being closely watched across the nation because they will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
Incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue is facing off against Democrat challenger Jon Ossoff.
Georgia was the only state with two U.S. Senate seats on the ballot in the general election in November and both required a runoff. Races go to a runoff when neither of the candidates gets a margin of 50% plus one vote. The two candidates with the most votes qualify for the runoff.
The other runoff race is for the senate seat formerly held by Sen. Johnny Isakson who stepped down at the end of 2019 for health reasons. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Republican Kelly Loeffler to the seat. Now, she is in a runoff with Democrat Raphael Warnock. See results from that race, here.
The polls close at 7:00 p.m. and after that, results will begin to populate below.
With such a high percentage of absentee ballots expected, full election results may not be available on the evening of Jan. 5. Continue to check this page for updates.
Who is David Perdue?
David Perdue was elected as Georgia's junior senator in 2014.
Perdue was born in Macon, Georgia, and grew up in Warner Robins. He earned a degree in industrial engineering and a master’s in operations research from Georgia Tech.
Perdue and his wife Bonnie have been married for 46 years, according to his bio. They have two sons and three grandsons.
The U.S. Senate was Perdue's first public office. Before that, Perdue held several prominent positions as a business executive with Reebok, Dollar General, and Sara Lee.
Perdue's cousin, Sonny, is a two-term former Georgia governor and current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Perdue has no connections to Perdue Chicken.
Who is Jon Ossoff?
Jon Ossoff was born in Atlanta.
Ossoff, who has never held public office, is described in his website bio as a "media executive, investigative journalist, and small business owner." Since 2013, he has served as CEO of Insight TWI, a media company that says it produces "fresh, daring factual content and high-impact journalism."
Ossoff's wife, Alisha, is an OB/GYN physician at a metro Atlanta hospital.
Ossoff first rose to political prominence when he ran a tight race against Karen Handel in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race to replace Republican Tom Price in 2017 after Trump selected Price to be Health and Human Service Secretary. The race between Ossoff and Handel quickly became one of the most expensive in the nation's history, with Handel besting Ossoff in a runoff election, 51.78 percent to 48.22 percent.
Bookmark this page and return for real-time 2020 Georgia election results as they come in. Download the free 11Alive News app (Google Play | Apple devices) to receive alerts as the numbers come in. Send us any voting day issues or questions by text at (404) 885-7600.