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Georgia Senate elections live updates: Jon Ossoff projected to win Ga. Senate seat
The projected win cements Democrats' control of the Senate.
ABC News projected early Wednesday that Rev. Raphael Warnock will win the race against Kelly Loeffler and on Wednesday afternoon that Jon Ossoff is projected to defeat David Perdue. Together, the two projected wins hand Democrats control of the Senate.
For live updates on the vote totals, click here.
Top headlines:
Warnock reflects on historic win as an 'example of the American dream'
Fresh off his projected victory, Warnock stopped by ABC News’ “The View” on Wednesday to discuss his historic win.
“I am delighted and deeply honored that the people of Georgia have chosen me to represent them in the United States Senate,” Warnock said. “I know that these are some difficult and dark days, but every now and then God sends us a glimpse of hope and light, I think to encourage us to keep fighting the good fight.”
Warnock spoke directly to those who are struggling right now, saying, “you are looking at an iteration and example of the American dream."
“I grew up in public housing. I'm one of 12 children in my family. I'm number 11 and the first college graduate,” Warnock added.
While ABC News has not projected an Ossoff victory, Warnock said he is confident that when the votes are counted he will prevail.
“I have no doubt that Jon Ossoff will also be a United States senator from the state of Georgia.”
The Ebenezer Baptist Church pastor added he hopes the Senate can be “a force for good.”
Warnock said he has not heard from the Loeffler campaign since his projected victory, but said he hopes to represent all Georgians, even those who did not vote for him.
Biden reacts to Georgia runoffs
President-elect Joe Biden issued a lengthy statement on the Georgia Senate runoff elections, congratulating Rev. Raphael Warnock on his win and saying he is “hopeful that when the count is complete, Jon Ossoff will also be victorious.”
“Georgia's voters delivered a resounding message yesterday: They want action on the crises we face and they want it right now. On COVID-19, on economic relief, on climate, on racial justice, on voting rights and so much more. They want us to move, but move together,” Biden said. “It looks like we will emerge from yesterday's election with Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate, and of course I'm pleased that we will be able to work with Speaker Pelosi and a Majority Leader Schumer.”
“But I’m also just as determined today as I was yesterday to try to work with people in both parties — at the federal, state, and local levels — to get big things done for our nation,” the president-elect added.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
At least 4.4 million vote in Georgia contests
Georgia voters set a new record in Tuesday's runoff elections, with more than 4.4 million voters participating in the dual races.
The surge in turnout so far -- with votes still to be tallied -- wallops previous records for a runoff and also surpasses the total turnout for the 2016 general election.
Between the two races, turnout is nearly identical, according to the most recent data from the secretary of state’s office: 4,406,279 in the Loeffler/Warnock race and 4,406,181 in the Perdue/Ossoff race. The figures cap off two highly competitive contests in the emerging battleground state, and although Republicans were considered the favorites -- particularly given Democrats' poor showings in runoff elections historically in the state -- an engaged electorate helped deliver at least one projected win for Democrats so far.
Before Tuesday, turnout was already record-shattering, with 3,093,375 voters casting their ballots early (1,018,381 by mail and 2,074,994 early in-person), according to Georgia Votes. The previous record of 2.14 million was set in 2008.
The total early vote also included at least 123,079 who did not participate in November's general election, when nearly 5 million votes were tallied.
-ABC News’ Kendall Karson
Romney suggests Trump might have cost Republicans a win in Georgia
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-UT, suggested that Trump’s rhetoric might have stopped Republicans from winning Georgia’s Senate runoff contests. ABC News has projected a Warnock victory but has not yet projected Ossoff as the winner -- though he has garnered a significant lead.
"It turns out that telling the voters that the election is rigged is not a great way to turn out your voters," Romney told reporters Wednesday morning.
Romney brushed off questions about his flight to Washington, D.C., Tuesday night, where video shows him being heckled by possible Trump supporters.
"That's something I've gotten used to over the years,” Romney said. “That's the nature of politics today.”
-ABC News’ Allie Pecorin
DeKalb County returns boost Dems
While Loeffler and Perdue have carried the lead in the Senate races for most of the night, with the bulk of votes in DeKalb County coming in, Warnock is leading Loeffler statewide, and Ossoff is close behind Perdue.
In DeKalb County, a Democratic stronghold where a massive amount of votes came in, Ossoff currently leads 82.5% to Perdue’s 17.5%. Warnock leads 83.2% to Loeffler’s 16.8%.
"Now you may be asking why is Warnock not doing much better than Ossoff?" said ABC News Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas. "If you essentially come out and you look at all the counties that surround Atlanta, Warnock is over-performing Ossoff by about 2,000 votes so far in each of those counties."
According to the secretary of state’s website hosting the unofficial election results, there were at least 1,231,662 votes cast on Tuesday that have been counted so far -- a high turnout for runoff elections.
-ABC News' Meg Cunningham, Kendall Karson and Quinn Scanlan