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Election breakdown by Our 360 News elections coverage team
The Nov. 3 election is set to be record-breaking. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has predicted $14 billion will be spent on the presidential and congressional races this year, twice the amount spent on elections since 2000. Among the congressional races this year, the nation has it eyes on three in the South for their Senate-flipping potential: Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Alabama
Absentee ballots casted to date: 276,000 out of 329,000
Date Senate results will be known: Nov. 3
Incumbent and former federal prosecutor Doug Jones is facing former Auburn head coach Thomas 'Tommy' Tuberville in Alabama's US Senate race. Jones was first elected to the seat in 2017 in a special election to replace then-US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville defeated Sessions this past summer when he ran to regain his Senate seat.
If reelected, Jones will become the first two-term Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate in nearly 30 years. Republican Sen. Richard Shelby first represented Alabama as a Democrat in 1986 and 1992 before switching parties in 1994.
Georgia
Absentee ballots and early votes casted to date: 3.8 million
Date Senate results will be known: Nov. 4-5 for close races
Georgia has both Senate seats on the ballot this year and has the potential to become only the third state in the nation’s history to flip both Senate seats from Republican to Democrat. Incumbent and former Reebok CEO David Perdue is facing investigative journalist and media executive Jon Ossoff. In the second Senate race, incumbent and Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler is in a 20-person, winner-takes-all race including six Republicans and eight Democrats. Among the Democrats is Rev. Raphael Warlock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
If none of the candidates in either race receive at least 50 percent of the vote, runoff elections will be held on Jan. 5, 2021--two days after the 117th Congress is scheduled to convene for the new session.
South Carolina
Absentee ballots casted to date: 1 million
Dates Senate results will be known: SC Election Commission has not released a definite date
South Carolina's senior Senator, lawyer Lindsey Graham, is being challenged by former SC Democratic Party chairman Jamie Harrison. If elected, Harrison would represent SC along with Republican Senator Tim Scott. South Carolina would have two Black Senators concurrently in Congress, the first occurrence in US history.
The possibility is not lost on voters in the state. Desmonde, a registered voter from Seneca, SC, told Our 360 News he’s voting for Harrison. When asked why, he stated, “South Carolina deserves a change, especially when it comes to opportunities for African Americans. I feel in my heart, Lord willing, that Jaime has this in the bag.”
Eyes on the Senate
Republicans currently hold the majority in the Senate , 53-47. Any changes to majority or leadership in the Senate will take effect January 2021. Until then, win or lose, the current leadership and the 33 Senators on the ballot will return to Washington later this month. Items remaining on the agenda include COVID economic relief.
Stay tuned to Our 360 News on Tuesday, Nov. 3 as we bring you the latest updates on these three races and races throughout Alabama.