The win of incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate Runoff could have profound legislative and political consequences for Democrats.
“The truth is that it’s not an 1% difference,” said Chuck Schumer, a senator from New York. It’s a huge difference.”
After a heated election, Warnock defeated former NFL and University of Georgia star Herschel Walker in a short four-week runoff. The race was pushed to the second round after neither candidate received more than 50%.
This race, which included the general election and runoff, was the most costly of the 2022 election cycles with $425 million spent on campaigns and support groups.
Even though the result does not increase the Democratic majority’s number by one, it increases the party leadership and interest group spending of the same amount because they saw it as critical.
The Democrats now have firm control over the Senate, and Warnock’s victory makes their lives easier in many ways. They have a cushion to pass bills and committee control is assured. It also eliminates procedural obstacles that prevent them from carrying out the work of the Senate.
Here are some other ways that a two-seat majority could make an impact on the Senate for Democrats:
Avoid power-sharing negotiations
Schumer’s victory over Warnock means that he doesn’t have to negotiate another power-sharing agreement with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
After an early stalemate that had stalled President Biden’s Cabinet nominations, Schumer and McConnell reached an agreement to share the power in the evenly divided chamber.
McConnell maintained that Democrats should maintain the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 members to end any debate on the floor.
McConnell was forced to drop his demand by moderate Democrats Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia), who said that they would not vote to reduce the filibuster. This left Schumer with 51 votes to end minority party protection.
McConnell’s surrender would have left the chamber paralysed, with Senate Democrats unable take full control, despite being the majority.
There is no one-senator “veto power”
Democrats have enough room to lose just one vote in the caucus, and still pass bills through the chamber sans issue.
The extra seat will not only mean that Vice President Harris won’t have to be called for as many tiebreaking votes, but it also changes how they consider Manchin in their political calculations.
In the early years Biden’s term the West Virginia moderate held his party hostage. He used the narrow Democratic majority to reduce some of the president’s legislative priorities. Manchin frequently mentions that he is not comfortable voting against his constituents’ will.
“I have always stated, “If I can’t go home and explain it to it, it is not my vote,” “Manchin wrote in a 2021 statement expressing his opposition to Biden’s Build Back Better Act, as it was originally pitched.
Although the bill was eventually passed in November, Manchin forced negotiations to reduce its cost, scope, and size.
Make up a decisive committee
The current power-sharing agreement evenly splits the Senate committees. To move forward with nominations or bills, tied votes must be voted on the Senate floor.
However, Democrats are likely to have an additional seat in every committee after Warnock’s victory. This will allow for passage when senators often break from party lines.
Schumer stated, “With 51 we can go bolder — to show Americans the Democrats stand for,”
The next two years of Congress are likely to be different from the previous two. Republicans have seized the House majority, and with it, Democrats’ potential to pass major legislation has waned.
The party will be looking to confirm as many judges before 2024 as possible. A 51st seat is a good option. The rules change that was introduced by Harry Reid, the former Democratic Majority Leader, allows for confirmations with a simple majority.
Biden clearly predicted the impact of a 51st-place seat on his party’s future, speaking ahead of Warnock’s election. He said that 51 is better than 51, mainly because of the possibility for compositions of committees.
The committees aside, Warnock’s win gives Democrats a clear path to take action in the final years Biden’s term.
The president continued, “It’s just better.” The bigger the number, the better.
If Democrats hope to hold onto the Senate beyond 2024, each one of these seats will matter. With incumbent Senate Democrats in the reelection process in states like West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio, which are all Republican-leaning, it will be difficult for Democrats to retain control of the chamber.
Copyright 2022 NPR. Copyright 2022 NPR.
