It’s official
– Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have both been projected as the winners in their U.S.
Senate runoff elections in Georgia which will give Democrats slim
majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Warnock won
his race beating GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler by over 68,000 votes. Ossoff secured
his win with a smaller but clear margin of more than 32,400 votes over the
incumbent, Sen. David Perdue.
The margins of
victory for both Democrats are larger than the threshold needed to trigger any
ballot recounts under Georgia law.
The dual wins
will bring the makeup of the Senate to 50 Democrats (including 2 Independents
who caucus with the Dems) and 50 Republicans. With Vice President-Elect Kamala
Harris serving as president of the Senate, she will break any ties thus giving
control to the Dems.
The news has
special significance for the LGBTQ community as the two Democrats campaigned on
strong support for queer rights. Both Warnock and Ossoff promised their support
and votes for The Equality Act which would add sexual orientation and gender
identity to existing federal civil rights laws.
Warnock, who
will be the first Black Senator from the Peach State, promised to
advocate for resources to help at-risk LGBTQ youth and push to ban
discriminatory federal practices that stop trans people from serving in our
armed forces.
Ossoff, 33,
will be one of the youngest Senators in history. He specified defending the
rights of gay couples to adopt and strengthening anti-bullying programs for
LGBTQ youth on his
campaign website.
The Human Rights Campaign and the Georgia Voice endorsed both Democrats during
their campaigns.
In November,
HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement, “Both Ossoff and Warnock will
prioritize the passage of the Equality Act if elected, and their historic races
will be our highest priority in the coming weeks and months.”
David also
noted that Perdue and Loeffler have been anti-LGBTQ extremists who would
continue to “undermine the rights and well-being for all LGBTQ people.”
SOURCE: INSTINCT MAG
I like how the Rethuglicans managed to make yesterday about their despicable selves and not allow these two incredible men their day of glory. So happy about what happened in Georgia. It is the start of turning this ship back around the right way!
ReplyDeleteI hope 🤞🏽
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