Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate

The Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday thanks to the victories of their two candidates in the second round of elections in Georgia, which outgoing President Donald Trump had proposed as a referendum on his administration. 

Raphael Warnock, who became Georgia's first African-American senator, was confirmed on Tuesday night, media projections today gave the winner to fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff over his Republican rival, David Perdue.

The second round of elections in Georgia, which would normally have been an issue for the state, turned into a dispute of national consequence involving both Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. 

Thanks to these victories, both for a very close result, Biden will be able to have control of both houses of Congress for at least the first two years of his term, allowing him to advance his policies without obstruction from the Republican Party.

Warnock, 51, is a Baptist pastor at Atlanta's Abenezer Church, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King, assassinated in 1968, was once an assistant pastor.

In his election, Warnock received 50.6 percent of the vote and defeated Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, who received 49.4 percent of the vote, while Ossoff received 50.32 percent of the vote to her rival's 49.68 percent.

Until this second round of voting, which was reached because none of the candidates obtained 50 percent of the votes in the first round, in the U.S. Senate the Democrats had 49 seats and the Republicans 50.

With the victory of Ossoff, who at 33 will be the youngest senator since Biden arrived in the Senate in 1972, the Democrats are tied in seats with the Republicans in the Upper House, so the decisive vote will go to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as Senate President.

Neither of the two Republican candidates has admitted defeat, arguing that thousands of votes sent by members of the armed forces abroad have yet to be counted.

Although the two Democrats have already declared themselves winners, votes from sectors in the cities of Atlanta and Savannah that are more favorable to the Democrats have yet to be counted.

In proclaiming his victory, Ossoff thanked "with humility the people of Georgia" for having elected him to the Senate.

Perdue, whose term in the Senate expired last Sunday, thanked "everyone who voted, everyone who has put their faith and trust in our democracy to get the representation we deserve, whether they voted for me or against me.

Before confirming Ossoff's victory, President-elect Joe Biden congratulated Warnock and expressed his optimism for the other candidate's possible victory.

Biden, 77, who will take office on January 20, also congratulated "the people of Georgia, who went out to vote again in unprecedented numbers, as they did in November, to elect two new senators, demand action and demand that elected leaders break the deadlock.

The president-elect said he is "as determined today as he was yesterday to make the effort to work with people of both parties, at the federal, state and local levels, to accomplish great things for our nation.

Trump, for his part, brought to Georgia his claims that he was a victim of fraud in the Nov. 3 presidential election, an unsubstantiated claim he reiterated at a pre-election rally.

The outgoing governor received 74.2 million votes compared to 81.2 million for the Democratic candidate.

"After the last four years, after the election and after the electoral certification process in Congress today, the time has come to turn the page," Biden said. "Americans are demanding action and they want unity," he added.