On Jan. 5, Democrats prevailed in two Georgia runoff elections for the U.S Senate, effectively completing a Democratic sweep of the White House, Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrat candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock bucked recent runoff trends in the state of Georgia and secured victories over incumbent Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Since 1988 there had been eight statewide runoffs or special election runoffs in Georgia, with Republicans winning seven of them. However, Tuesday night yielded much different results.

In a historically conservative state, Ossoff and Warnock were carried to victory by an energized Democratic party base to exceed the expected turnout. Conversely, the Republican base was bruised and fractured heading into election day, and it showed as Republican-heavy areas underperformed.

Ossoff will be sworn in for a full six-year term while Warnock will fulfill the remaining two years of a six-year term and stand for reelection in 2022.

Once these two senators-elect are seated, the Senate will be tied with each party controlling fifty votes, which includes two independents who caucus with the Democratic party. In accordance with Article 1, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president of the United States shall cast the deciding vote for control. That will effectively hand the gavel to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), who will become the new Majority Leader.

Working with President-elect Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat-controlled Senate will have much to say about the policy agenda for the 117^th Congress, and what impact that will have on the independent agency system.

Nathan Riedel is Big “I" vice president of political affairs.