Retaining Georgia Senate Seat Gives Democrats Crucial 51-49 Majority

The Democrats have ensured a crucial 51-49 seat majority in the Senate following incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock's 51.4% to 48.6% win over Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the run-off election held on 6 December.

• Holding an outright majority, rather than the effective majority provided in a 50-50 split chamber by VP Kamala Harris' position as President of the Senate and vote tie-breaker, gives the Democrats more leeway in a number of areas.
• They will now find it easier to pass administration nominees, while also gaining majorities on Senate committees that under the previous Senate had a 50-50 split in line with the chamber's divide.
• The one-seat majority could also see centrist Democratic senators such as Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona - who have wielded significant power over the past two years in shaping legislation - lose some influence in affecting the nature of policy in the Senate.
• For the Republicans, Walker's loss caps a disappointing midterm season in which high expectations of a 'red wave' failed to materialise beyond the party gaining a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
• With the Georgia run-off concluded, the next major area of focus for US politics and determining the direction of policy over the coming quarters comes when the House comes to elect a new Speaker. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) remains favourite to take the gavel from Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), but a restive House Republican caucus could make the vote (requiring majority support in the House) a divisive occasion.