One of the aspects of American politics that is not always appreciated in the UK is that each of the 50 states have different election laws. In Georgia they have a rule that unless a candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in an election then there is a run off with the top 2 a few weeks later.

Given the overall state of where things stand after yesterday’s voting it could be that the likely Georgia runoff will decide which party controls the US Senate.

It will be recalled that there was a similar runoff in Georgia after the 2020 White House election.

There are several races still to be decided but the overall outcome looks as though it won’t be as bad for the Democrats as had been predicted. The party’s gain in Pennsylvania means that Republicans have to make two Senate race gains to take control.

Mike Smithson