2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia


The 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020, and on January 5, 2021, to elect the Class III member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated appointed incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler. The first round of the election was held on November 3, 2020; however, no candidate received a majority of the vote, so the top two candidates—Warnock and Loeffler—advanced to a runoff on January 5, 2021, which Warnock won narrowly.
The special election was prompted by the December 2019 resignation of Johnny Isakson. Georgia governor Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler as the interim replacement pending the special election.
Under Georgia law, no primary election took place for the special election; all candidates, regardless of party, were placed on the same ballot, and the election was held on November 3, 2020. Warnock received the most votes with 32.9%, and Loeffler came in second with 25.9%. No candidate received more than 50% of the vote, so the top two candidates advanced to a runoff election on January 5, 2021.
The runoff was held concurrently with the regular Georgia Class II Senate election, in which Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican David Perdue, also in a runoff on January 5. Following the November 3, 2020 Senate elections, Republicans held 50 Senate seats, and the Democratic caucus—46 registered Democrats and two allied independents—had 48. Because of this, the two Georgia runoffs determined the balance of the United States Senate under the incoming Biden administration. Winning both races gave the Democratic caucus 50 Senate seats, an effective majority with Democratic vice president Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes. The extraordinarily high political stakes caused the races to attract significant attention nationwide and globally.
Major media outlets, including Decision Desk HQ, the Associated Press, The New York Times, and NBC News, called the election for Warnock in the early hours of January 6, just minutes after he declared victory. Though Loeffler vowed to challenge the results after she returned from the electoral vote certification in Washington, she conceded on January 7. Ossoff and Warnock became the first Democrats to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in the 2000 special election. Warnock is the first Black senator from Georgia, as well as the first Black Democrat from the South elected to the Senate. Though Warnock is the first Democratic senator from this seat since the latter election, hours later Ossoff was declared the winner in the regular Senate election. The two elections mark the first time since the 1994 United States Senate election in Tennessee and the concurrent special election that both Senate seats in a state have flipped from one party to the other in a single election cycle. This was also the first time the Democrats achieved this since West Virginia's 1958 Senate elections. The election results were certified on January 19, 2021, with the senators-elect taking office on January 20, marking the first time since 2003 that Democrats held both of Georgia’s Senate seats and making them the first Democratic U.S. Senators from Georgia since 2005. Loeffler would later go on to be nominated as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in 2025 following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.

Background

On August 28, 2019, Isakson announced that he would resign from the Senate effective December 31, 2019, due to his deteriorating health. This triggered a special election to fill the remainder of his term. On September 17, 2019, Georgia governor Brian Kemp launched a website inviting Georgia citizens to submit their résumés to be considered for appointment. President Donald Trump advocated the appointment of Representative Doug Collins. Kemp appointed Loeffler to fill the seat until the 2020 special election; she took office on January 6, 2020.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Despite the large number of candidates in the special election, by October 4, 2020, the Democratic Party had largely consolidated around Warnock's candidacy and had pressured other Democratic candidates, such as Matt Lieberman, to drop out to avoid vote-splitting.
While she had not been treated as a major contender and was largely ignored by pollsters, Deborah Jackson received 6.6% of the vote in the initial round of the election, being the second-best performing Democrat, and outperformed fellow Democrats such as Matt Lieberman and Ed Tarver, who pollsters had paid attention to. Al Jazeera attributed her performance, in part, to her being the first Democrat listed in the order of candidates that appeared on the ballot, and her being a familiar figure in the Democratic stronghold of DeKalb County.

Advanced to runoff

Eliminated

Declined

Republican Party

Advanced to runoff

Eliminated

Withdrawn

Declined

Libertarian Party

Declared

Green Party

Declared

  • John "Green" Fortuin

Independents

Declared

Special election

Results

Since no candidate won a majority of the vote on November 3, the top two finishers—Loeffler and Warnock—advanced to a January 5, 2021 runoff election.

By congressional district

Loeffler won seven out of 14 congressional districts to Warnock's six and Collins's one.
DistrictWarnockLoefflerCollinsElected
Representative
26.97%27.79%21.94%Buddy Carter
37.35%21.47%18.89%Sanford Bishop
25.21%33.93%24.2%Drew Ferguson
56.07%10.97%6.91%Hank Johnson
63.76%7.61%4.35%Nikema Williams
36.27%27.05%15.88%Lucy McBath
31.05%25.34%17.1%Carolyn Bourdeaux
22.43%32.57%25.18%Austin Scott
13.65%27.58%45.49%Andrew Clyde
25.83%33.76%22.59%Jody Hice
27.19%33.79%20.11%Barry Loudermilk
25.69%28.68%22.27%Rick W. Allen
52.91%12.71%8.12%David Scott
14.3%39.46%26.99%Marjorie Taylor Greene

Runoff

The runoff election for Isakson's former seat was on January 5, 2021. The regularly scheduled runoff election for the Georgia U.S. Senate seat held by Republican David Perdue was also decided in a January 5 runoff, but was defeated by Jon Ossoff also in a close finish. Before the Georgia runoffs in the 2020 U.S. Senate elections, Republicans held 50 Senate seats and the Democratic caucus held 48. Warnock declared victory on January 6, 2021. If Democrats won the other Georgia runoff held on January 5, their caucus would gain control of the Senate, as the resultant 50–50 tie would be broken by Democratic vice president-elect Kamala Harris. If they lost the second race, Republicans would retain control. The extremely high political stakes caused the races to attract significant attention nationwide. They were the third and fourth Senate runoff elections held in Georgia since runoffs were first mandated in 1964, after runoffs in 1992 and 2008. It was also the third time that both of Georgia's Senate seats have been up for election at the same time, following double-barrel elections in 1914 and 1932. The Associated Press and other major news outlets called the race for Warnock in the early morning hours of January 6. His win was attributed to heavy black voter turnout.
The deadline for registration for the runoff election was December 7. Absentee ballots for the runoff were sent out beginning on November 18, and in-person voting began on December 14.

Polling

Aggregate polls

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler 		Raphael
Warnock 		OtherUndecided
Trafalgar Group (R)January 2–4, 20211,056 ± 2.9%50%48%–2%
AtlasIntelJanuary 2–4, 2021857 ± 3%47%51%–2%
InsiderAdvantageJanuary 3, 2021500 ± 4.4%49%49%–2%
National Research IncJanuary 2–3, 2021500 ± 4.4%45%46%–9%
University of Nevada Las Vegas Lee Business SchoolDecember 30, 2020 – January 3, 2021550 ± 4%49%48%–3%
Targoz Market ResearchDecember 30, 2020 – January 3, 2021713 ± 3.7%49%51%–0%
Targoz Market ResearchDecember 30, 2020 – January 3, 20211,342 ± 3.7%48%49%–3%
AtlasIntelDecember 25, 2020 – January 1, 20211,680 ± 2%47%51%–2%
Gravis MarketingDecember 29–30, 20201,011 ± 3.1%47%49%–3%
JMC Analytics and PollingDecember 28–29, 2020500 ± 4.4%45%54%–1%
Trafalgar Group (R)December 23–27, 20201,022 ± 3.0%49%50%–1%
Open Model ProjectDecember 21–27, 20201,405 ± 4.7%50%46%–4%
InsiderAdvantageDecember 21–22, 2020500 ± 4.4%47%49%–4%
Mellman GroupDecember 18–22, 2020578 ± 4.1%47%50%–3%
Reconnect Research/Probolsky ResearchDecember 14–22, 20201,027 ± 4%42%43%–15%
SurveyUSADecember 16–20, 2020600 ± 5.1%45%52%–3%
Trafalgar Group (R)December 14–16, 20201,064 ± 3.0%52%46%–2%
Emerson CollegeDecember 14–16, 2020605 ± 3.9%51%48%–1%
InsiderAdvantageDecember 14, 2020500 ± 4.4%49%48%–3%
WickDecember 10–14, 20201,500 –50%48%–2%
RMG ResearchDecember 8–14, 20201,417 ± 2.6%48%49%–4%
Baris/Peach State Battleground PollDecember 4–11, 20201,008 ± 3.1%43%48%–9%
Trafalgar Group (R)December 8–10, 20201,018 ± 3.0%50%47%–3%
Fabrizio Ward/Hart Research AssociatesNovember 30 – December 4, 20201,250 ± 3.2%46%47%–7%
Trafalgar Group (R)December 1–3, 20201,083 ± 2.9%50%45%–5%
SurveyUSANovember 27–30, 2020583 ± 5.2%45%52%–2%
RMG ResearchNovember 19–24, 20201,377 ± 2.6%46%48%–6%
Data for ProgressNovember 15–20, 20201,476 ± 2.6%47%50%–4%
InsiderAdvantageNovember 16, 2020800 ± 3.5%48%49%–3%
VCreek/AMG November 10, 2020300 ± 5.6%50%46%–5%
Remington Research GroupNovember 8–9, 20201,450 ± 2.6%49%48%–3%
Monmouth UniversityOctober 23–27, 2020504 ± 4.4%45%51%––
Civiqs/Daily KosOctober 23–26, 20201,041 ± 3.4%37%51%9%2%
Emerson CollegeOctober 17–19, 2020506 ± 4.3%42%47%–12%
Siena College/NYT UpshotOctober 13–19, 2020759 ± 4.1%41%45%–14%
Quinnipiac UniversityOctober 8–12, 20201,040 ± 3.0%44%52%0%4%
Data for ProgressOctober 8–11, 2020782 ± 3.5%40%44%–16%
Civiqs/Daily KosSeptember 26–29, 2020969 ± 3.5%39%49%8%4%
Gravis Marketing (R)July 2, 2020513 ± 4.3%48%37%–15%
Public Policy Polling (D)June 25–26, 2020734 ± 3.6%40%43%–17%
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%32%45%18%6%
Battleground Connect (R)March 31 – April 1, 20201,035 ± 3.0%40%41%–19%
The Progress Campaign (D)March 12–21, 20203,042 ± 4.5%38%38%–24%

Loeffler vs. Collins

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler		Doug
Collins		Undecided
Gravis Marketing (R)July 2, 2020513 ± 4.3%28%34%37%
Public Policy Polling (D)December 12–13, 2019711 —16%56%27%

Loeffler vs. Lieberman

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler 		Matt
Lieberman 		OtherUndecided
Data for ProgressOctober 8–11, 2020782 ± 3.5%42%41%–17%
Civiqs/Daily KosSeptember 26–29, 2020969 ± 3.5%39%39%17%5%
Gravis Marketing (R)July 2, 2020513 ± 4.3%46%39%–15%
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%32%44%18%6%

Loeffler vs. Tarver

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler 		Ed
Tarver 		OtherUndecided
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%32%43%20%6%

Collins vs. Lieberman

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Doug
Collins 		Matt
Lieberman 		OtherUndecided
Civiqs/Daily KosSeptember 26–29, 2020969 ± 3.5%44%38%13%5%
Gravis Marketing (R)July 2, 2020513 ± 4.3%46%37%–16%
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%44%44%7%5%

Collins vs. Tarver

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Doug
Collins 		Ed
Tarver 		OtherUndecided
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%45%42%8%5%

Collins vs. Warnock

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Doug
Collins 		Raphael
Warnock 		OtherUndecided
Monmouth UniversityOctober 23–27, 2020504 ± 4.4%45%52%––
Civiqs/Daily KosOctober 23–26, 20201,041 ± 3.3%42%51%5%2%
Emerson CollegeOctober 17–19, 2020506 ± 4.3%47%48%–6%
Siena College/NYT UpshotOctober 13–19, 2020759 ± 4.1%41%45%–14%
Quinnipiac UniversityOctober 8–12, 20201,040 ± 3.0%42%54%0%4%
Civiqs/Daily KosSeptember 26–29, 2020969 ± 3.5%44%49%4%4%
Gravis Marketing (R)July 2, 2020513 ± 4.3%47%38%–15%
Public Policy Polling (D)June 25–26, 2020734 ± 3.6%43%41%–17%
Civiqs/Daily KosMay 16–18, 20201,339 ± 3.1%44%45%6%5%
The Progress Campaign (D)May 6–15, 20202,893 ± 2.0%43%41%–16%
Battleground Connect (R)March 31 – April 1, 20201,035 ± 3.0%49%36%–15%
The Progress Campaign (D)March 12–21, 20203,042 ± 4.5%41%39%–20%

Loeffler vs. Broun

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler		Paul
Broun		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)December 12–13, 2019711 —27%14%59%

Collins vs. Abrams

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Doug
Collins 		Stacey
Abrams 		Undecided
The Progress Campaign (D)March 12–21, 20203,042 ± 4.5%43%47%10%

Loeffler vs. generic opponent

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Kelly
Loeffler		Someone elseUndecided
Public Policy Polling (D)December 12–13, 2019711 —26%30%44%

with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Generic
Republican		Generic
Democrat		Undecided
RMG Research/PoliticalIQDecember 8–14, 20201,377 ± 2.6%46%42%11%
Quinnipiac UniversitySeptember 23–27, 20201,125 ± 2.9%48%49%3%

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Despite losing the statewide runoff, Loeffler won eight of 14 congressional districts.
DistrictLoefflerWarnockElected
Representative
56%44%Buddy Carter
43%57%Sanford Bishop
62%38%Drew Ferguson
19%81%Hank Johnson
13%87%Nikema Williams
46%54%Lucy McBath
46%54%Carolyn Bourdeaux
62%38%Austin Scott
77%23%Andrew Clyde
60%40%Jody Hice
58%42%Barry Loudermilk
56%44%Rick W. Allen
21%79%David Scott
73%27%Marjorie Taylor Greene

Election-related lawsuits

Republicans filed two federal and one state lawsuit in December to restrict the January5 vote. On December17, Judge Eleanor L. Ross found that plaintiffs lacked standing based on possible future harm to toss out a consent decree regarding signatures on absentee ballot applications. Judge James Randal Hall threw out another case that tried to block the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots. A third lawsuit, to restrict the use of drop boxes, was heard in state court on December24.
On December18, a federal judge threw out a Republican lawsuit alleging that out-of-state residents were voting in the runoff election, as Republican attorney Bill Price had recommended. Another lawsuit was filed against the use of voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems, alleging that election officials are handling mail-in absentee ballots improperly and illegally.
Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, sister of Democratic politician Stacey Abrams, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia rejected the attempted purge of 4,000 voters in Muscogee County and Ben Hill County, Georgia, on December 29. The ruling means the voters were able to participate in the January 5 runoff election. The ruling was amended to allow provisional voting to prevent election-day challenges.