Twitter Is Screaming "Boy, BYE" To Mitch McConnell After The Georgia Runoffs
With the results of Georgia's Senate runoff elections rolling in on Wednesday, Jan. 6, voters are looking ahead to a very different makeup of American politics. First up, Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler in their Senate special election, according to The New York Times, making Warnock the first Black person in history to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, victory looked extremely likely for Democrat Jon Ossoff as of 11:45 a.m. ET on Jan. 6. If Democrats take both seats, it will put an end to six years of Republican Senate control under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — and it looks like the Twitterverse is more than ready for a shift in power. These tweets about Mitch McConnell after the Georgia Senate election show people are already addressing the senior Kentucky senator with his likely new minority leader title.
On Jan. 6, Georgia officially closed out the end of the 2020 election as numerous outlets, including The New York Times, Associated Press, and CNN, named Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock the projected winner against GOP incumbent Kelly Loeffler. Meanwhile, as of about 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Ossoff holds a 0.39% lead over Republican incumbent David Perdue, per The New York Times. It's a tight but significant lead for the Democrat, given the remaining votes to be counted come from Democrat-leaning areas. Shortly before noon, Georgia elections official Gabe Sterling said in a press conference that the race would likely stay in Ossoff's favor. A win for Ossoff would give Democrats control of the Senate, with a 50-50 tie and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris acting as a tiebreaker.
With Democrats looking ahead at control of the upper chamber, people were quick to note another big change-up: Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will now be the Senate minority leader, should Republicans lose control of the Senate. Considering the Kentucky senator's close ties to President Donald Trump and his controversial track record, including blocking a vote $2,000 coronavirus stimulus checks and pushing through Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation, many voters appeared more than happy to see him demoted. Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' niece were just a few of the many Twitter users who took to the social media platform to celebrate.
Many also took to Twitter to acknowledge Georgia's important role in the change of power, especially that of Stacey Abrams.
McConnell has yet to comment on the Georgia runoff results or the shift in power, but judging from all the tweets online, people are already in celebration mode and gearing up for a very different political reality over the next few years.
