JON OSSOFF

Republican Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker is acknowledging that he has a second son whom he has not previously mentioned publicly.

Amid criticism of other voting changes, few noticed in 2021 when Georgia lawmakers shortened the period between an election and a runoff from nine weeks to four weeks.

The Army Corps said in a memo that a previous decision allowing the project to move ahead was no longer valid because the corps had failed to properly consult with tribal stakeholders.

A federal agency has delivered a big setback to a company's controversial plan to mine at the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp's vast wildlife refuge.

Georgia still struggles with its history of slavery, segregation and racial injustice, but voters in the Deep South state have for the first time selected two Black candidates to represent the major parties in a U.S. Senate race.

In response to a letter from Sen. Jon Ossoff, Homeland Security said it plans to begin the process to create new rules to increase protections for farmworkers.

The governor's race in Georgia between Republican incumbent Brian Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams promises to be a brutal battle that will further amp up the state's charged political environment.

New legislation in the Senate requires the Justice Department to establish guidelines for the federal Bureau of Prisons and state correctional systems to notify the families of inmates if their loved one has a serious illness, a life-threatening injury or if they die behind bars.

A Georgia judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former U.S. Sen. David Perdue that alleged fraudulent or counterfeit ballots were counted in the state’s most populous county during the 2020 general election.

Republicans who embraced discredited conspiracy theories about Donald Trump's 2020 defeat and preached skepticism about elections now need their supporters to trust the system enough to vote for them.

The Senate has voted to confirm Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F.

An ongoing Associated Press investigation has uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Justice Department’s largest law enforcement agency, the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Proposals to ban stock trading by lawmakers are gaining ground in Congress and on the campaign trail.

One of the largest providers of military housing in the United States continues to respond inadequately to mold and other problems reported by residents.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue is building his campaign around Donald Trump and veering to the right as he tries to unseat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a May 24 GOP primary.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and top Republican challenger David Perdue are bickering over who was to blame for 2020 and 2021 Republican election losses in their first of three debates Sunday.

Georgia Republican Herschel Walker says his U.S. Senate campaign raised $5.5 million in the first three months of 2022.

Empathy is not a quality many Republican senators want to see in the next Supreme Court justice.

It’s not just Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who is being watched as she makes history as the first Black woman to be considered for the job.

A planned $5 billion electric vehicle plant that has been billed as the largest economic development project in Georgia’s history is drawing opposition from an unusual source: former Republican U.S. senator David Perdue.

The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by The Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.

Pressure is building for Congress to pass legislation that would curtail lawmakers’ ability to speculate on the stock market.

Herschel Walker’s Republican rivals for U.S. Senate in Georgia say reports by The Associated Press about the former football great's past leave the GOP vulnerable to losing the race if the party nominates him.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will propose a measure that will let parents opt their children out of school mask mandates.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, an investment manager and options trader, could be up big on Wednesday with Alphabet's equity pop.

Will Congress take the bold step of barring its members from trading stocks?

Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton Thursday told the Associated Press he had 'a mixture of disappointment and anger' when he heard that the voting rights bill failed to pass in the Senate. (Jan. 20)

Sens. Jon Ossoff and Josh Hawley introduced competing bills to ban members of Congress and their immediate family members from trading stocks while in office.

Congress often talks tough about reining in Wall Street. But now there's growing pressure on Capitol Hill to curb lawmakers' own trading.

Democrat Stacey Abrams is calling on Congress to act on voting rights as she launches a second bid to become Georgia's governor.

Georgia Republican David Perdue is furthering his embrace of debunked claims that Georgia’s 2020 presidential election was wrongly decided as he runs for governor.

Former President Donald Trump has set out to reshape the GOP in his image across the nation’s top political battlegrounds, sparking bitter primary battles.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is likely to face a prominent challenger for the 2022 Republican primary for governor, former Sen. David Perdue.

Stacey Abrams' 2022 Democratic campaign for Georgia governor is likely to be different than her narrow 2018 loss.

Medicaid issues are turning up as winners in President Joe Biden’s social budget framework even as divisions force Democrats to hit pause on far-reaching improvements to Medicare.

Supporters of Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp are fighting back against Donald Trump and their own party leaders.

Democrats are fretting about how they’d divide a shrinking pie amid signs that negotiations over President Joe Biden’s massive domestic policy bill could yield a smaller serving of health care spending.

Broken security cameras at federal prisons across the U.S. have allowed inmates to escape from prison undetected and hampered investigations into misconduct.

The rewards of an early Donald Trump endorsement were on display Saturday evening in Georgia.

In the nation’s capital on Saturday, multiracial coalitions of civil, human and labor rights leaders are convening rallies and marches to urge passage of federal voter protections that have been eroded since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

President Joe Biden has honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm at the White House.

A coalition of civil rights groups releasing a report on hate crime laws says the protections against bias-motivated violence are inconsistent and lack uniformity nationally.

Three Democratic U.S. senators from states that have refused to expand Medicaid want the federal government to set up a mirror plan to provide health insurance coverage to people in those states.

Brian Kemp often tells supporters to “keep choppin’ wood,” his way of urging a calm, deliberate approach — even in politics.

Sen. Raphael Warnock is still the prominent freshman who helped his party win control on Capitol Hill.

Boosted by President Biden's win and two U.S. Senate victories, high-profile Democratic candidates in Georgia are running for statewide office in a way unseen in years.

The divisions among Georgia Republicans after the 2020 election are being laid bare at the party's annual convention.

Black women are stepping up as Democratic candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate as the party looks to expand its footprint in Sun Belt battlegrounds.

They represent two closely contested Sun Belt states. But Georgia's Democratic senators are taking more progressive positions, while Arizona's are opting for a more centrist approach.

Republicans in the Senate Rules Committee rejected an amendment to the For The People Act that would ban states from restricting volunteers from handing out food or water to people standing in line to vote. The amendment was proposed by Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia – where Republicans have recently passed a law that criminalises giving out food and water to voters at the polls – as part of his Voter Access to Water Act. Republicans have claimed that allowing people to hand out food and water would encourage electioneering at the polls, which is already illegal.

Nothing like a prominent life in public service to help your other career as a romance novelist.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Georgia on Thursday to attend a car drive-in rally outside of the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth.

Before his first in-person political rally as president, Biden visited former president Jimmy Carter at his home.

Georgia Republican Doug Collins, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, says he doesn’t plan to run for governor or U.S. Senate in 2022.

Senate Democrats are holding new Georgia voting rules up as a warning as they push a broad legislative overhaul of U.S. elections.

About two dozen protesters turned out near Augusta National to object to Georgia’s new voting law during the third round of the Masters.

While a tempest brews outside Magnolia Lane over Georgia’s voting rights law, Augusta National would prefer to keep the focus on blooming azaleas, pimento cheese sandwiches and tricky greens.

Amid the glow of baseball’s opening day, there's a cloud looming over the All-Star Game still more than three months away.

The sweeping rewrite of Georgia’s election rules that was signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp represents the first big set of changes since former President Donald Trump’s repeated, baseless claims of fraud following his presidential loss to Joe Biden.

Anchor, CBS News Streaming Network

(AP Photo/Ben Gray)ATLANTA – A man who survived the shooting that killed his wife at an Atlanta-area massage business last week said police detained him in handcuffs for four hours after the attack. Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in an emailed statement Monday afternoon that his office would not have any further comment on the case and is focusing on the investigation and prosecution. In all, seven of the slain victims were women, six of them of Asian descent. Gonzalez said they put him in handcuffs and detained him for about four hours, according to the website. “Only when they finally confirmed I was her husband, did they tell me that she was dead," he said.

Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., who is running for reelection, speaks during a campaign event at Peachtree Dekalb Airport in Atlanta, Ga., on Monday, November 2, 2020. Georgia Republican David Perdue said Tuesday he will not mount a new bid for the Senate in 2022, abruptly ending speculation he had stoked just one week earlier. The seat is held by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in one of two Georgia runoffs on Jan. 5. The victories by Ossoff and Warnock delivered effective control of the Senate to Democrats by the narrowest or margins. Perdue's potential challenge in 2022 was expected to be against Warnock, who is serving out the term of Republican ex-Sen. Johnny Isakson.

With Ossoff, Padilla and Warnock seated, Democrats hold the narrowest possible majority in the Senate. New Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday that lawmakers would get to work on implementing the "lengthy agenda" set by President Biden, such as addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Schumer said that the Senate would work differently under a Democratic majority, implicitly drawing a contrast with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who as majority leader blocked several bills passed in the House from moving forward in the Senate. However, in his first speech as minority leader, McConnell indicated that he did not believe Democrats had a mandate, given their narrow majority in the Senate. Democrats will have such a narrow majority in the Senate that it could be difficult for Congress to pass some of Mr. Biden's legislative priorities.

Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California took office, bringing the Senate party split to 50-50. Democrats took control of the Senate on Wednesday when three new members of the party were sworn in, giving a boost to President Joe Biden 's ambitions in the White House. Though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats will decide what the Senate pursues, they face a challenge in finding Republican support to pass most legislation. This will be an exceptionally busy and consequential period for the United States Senate," Schumer said in his first speech as majority leader. Some Democrats have called to get rid of the tool to allow bills to pass with a simple majority vote.

Seeing them campaign and celebrate together highlighted the vital partnership between Black and Jewish leaders in our struggle toward equality. It reminded me of that historic photo of King holding up pictures of the martyred civil rights colleagues James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Yet many of us were robbed of the chance to fully appreciate and celebrate these historic milestones. Or the sight of the Confederate flag being paraded through the rotunda while rioters searched for members of Congress and the vice president. Congratulations, Madam Vice President..Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation.

That will help President-elect Joe Biden push his legislative agenda, and higher taxes are expected to be a major part of his plans The estate tax could be a prime target for Democrats. Households will file about 4,100 federal estate tax returns for people who died in 2020 — only approximately 1,900 of them will be taxable, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center. Alvina Lo chief wealth strategist for Wilmington TrustThose returns could generate roughly $16 billion in estate tax liability for 2020, the center estimated. "Even with a Democratic president, House and Senate, the estate tax may not be at the top of their agenda," she said. In other words, the window to use the huge exemption to avoid estate taxes may remain open for another year.

Faith leaders condemn attack on U.S. Capitol Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II joins CBSN to discuss the attack on the U.S. Capitol and what Raphael Warnock's and Jon Ossoff's historic Senate victories mean for the incoming Biden administration.

Just two months later, Georgia voters made history again in two competitive runoff elections by sending Democrats to the Senate for the first time in two decades. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, will be the first Black senator from Georgia. Strong turnout from Black voters and other voters of color fueled Warnock and Ossoff's historic wins in Georgia – the culmination of on-the-ground organizing and voter mobilization efforts years in the making. More than 4.4 million ballots have already been counted in the runoffs, shattering turnout records for such elections in Georgia. Roughly 30% of the registered voters in Georgia are Black and 92% of Black voters supported the Democratic Senate candidates, according to NBC exit polls.

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock's projected historic wins come on the heels of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in November. While these numbers are impressive for a runoff, they did not match the even larger rates in more Democratic counties. While it was a small chunk of the electorate, accounting for 4% of the early vote, every vote is critical in tight races. Six in 10 of these new early voters were under 40, and four in 10 were Black — groups that were favorable to Ossoff and Warnock. An analysis by Charles Stewart of MIT showed Warnock over-performed Ossoff by relatively more in Democratic precincts and in precincts with more White voters, suggesting that straight-ticket Democratic voting was less common among White voters than among Black voters.

Historic wins tip control of U.S. Senate to Democrats Democrat Jon Ossoff beats incumbent Georgia Senator David Perdue while Democrat Raphael Warnock is the projected winner in the state's other runoff against incumbent Kelly Loeffler. Neither Perdue nor Loeffler have conceded. Mark Strassmann reports.

Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff picked up two Senate seats in Georgia, and those victories won control of the U.S. Senate for their party. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock received over 90% of their support, which was even higher than the 88% who voted for Joe Biden in November. Ossoff and Warnock each got the support of two-thirds of voters under 30, compared to Biden's 56% in November. Just like November, seven in 10 White voters voted Republicans, including majorities of both White men and White women, and White voters of all age groups and education levels, and overwhelmingly by White evangelicals, who made up more than a third of all voters. The survey included in-person interviews with Election Day voters, those at early voting locations and phone interviews that measured the views of absentee/by mail voters and early voters.

Democrats secure Senate control as Warnock, Ossoff clinch Georgia runoffs Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the Georgia runoffs, handing control of the Senate to Democrats. Mark Strassmann reports from Atlanta, including analysis from CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe and CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett.

Without a GOP-controlled Senate, Biden has greater leeway to pass climate change legislation. The goals of Biden's climate plan are in line with targets set by other major economies including China and the European Union. But experts are optimistic for some broader bipartisan-backed climate legislation to pass in upcoming years. Additionally, one of Biden's earliest expected executive orders would require that every government agency and department tackle climate change. "President-elect Biden and the administration he is building understand this and are ready to act," Deatrick said.

Jon Ossoff will win his Georgia Senate runoff race, CBS News projects, beating incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue. Ossoff, 33, will be the youngest Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate since President-elect Joe Biden, who assumed office in 1973 at the age of 30. When he was sworn in, Mr. Biden became the sixth youngest senator ever at 30 years, 1 month, and 14 days. Former Oklahoma Senator Don Nickels, a Republican, was the youngest senator since Biden when he was sworn in at 32 years old in 1981. He is the youngest Republican ever elected to the Senate.

Ossoff and Warnock are the first Democrats Georgia has sent to the Senate since 2005, another signal that Georgia may be turning blue after President-elect Joe Biden won the state in November. This dynamic will make it easier for Mr. Biden to begin implementing his agenda upon entering office. It all but guarantees that Mr. Biden's Cabinet nominees will be confirmed quickly, without a Republican majority to delay the process. The Republican majority in the Senate had previously blocked dozens of President Obama's nominations in the waning years of his term. With Democrats in control of the Senate, Mr. Biden will see his judicial nominees confirmed for the next two years at least.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff of Georgia speaks to supporters during a rally on November 15, 2020 in Marietta, Georgia. Ossoff faces incumbent U.S. Sen. David Purdue (R-GA) in one of two January 5 runoffs for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Democrat Jon Ossoff beat Republican David Perdue in one of Georgia's two Senate runoffs, NBC News projected Wednesday, sealing his party's control of Congress and the White House. The victories set up a 50-50 split in the Senate, giving Democrats a slim majority with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote. He and Warnock — who will become the first African American senator from Georgia and the third sitting Black senator — sealed the first Democratic Senate majority since 2014.

Jessica McGowan | Getty ImagesDemocrats will now have a narrow lead in the Senate, which may give President-elect Joe Biden's tax plan a better chance at passing. Increasing the top individual income tax rate to 39.6%: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set a top marginal individual income tax rate of 37%. Biden's proposal would tax unrealized capital gains. Biden's proposal calls for lowering this limit to $3.5 million per individual in bequeaths and $1 million in gifts. The corporate tax rate is currently 21%, but Biden's proposal calls for increasing it to 28%.

A $15 federal minimum wage edged closer after Tuesday's Georgia runoff election, which seems likely to flip Senate control and unify government under the Democratic Party. Such a pay boost would more than double the current federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, but would likely face resistance from some Republicans and business groups. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, won the U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia on Tuesday, beating the Republican incumbent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, according to NBC News projections. Democratic victories in those contests would give Democrats control of the Senate, the House and the presidency. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who typically votes with Democrats, said in a Tuesday tweet that a $15 minimum wage was at stake in Georgia's runoff election.

Georgia runoffs and the path ahead for Democrats and Republicans CBS News projects Democrat Raphael Warnock will beat out Senator Kelly Loeffler in Georgia, while votes are still being counted in the runoff between Jon Ossoff and GOP Senator David Perdue. Political contributors Leslie Sanchez and Antjuan Seawright spoke joined CBSN to discuss about the futures of the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the effort by some GOP lawmakers in Congress to object to Electoral College votes.

Democratic candidates for Senate Jon Ossoff (L) and Raphael Warnock (R) bump elbows on stage during a rally with US President-elect Joe Biden outside Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 4, 2021. The U.S. Senate runoff races in Georgia currently point to a victory for Democrats. That could also mean a win for one issue that has become more prominent in recent days — $2,000 stimulus checks. The idea of the $2,000 checks was a big issue in the Georgia races. Raphael Warnock who ran against incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and Democrat Jon Ossoff who faced off against Republican Sen. David Perdue.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Georgia's runoff election "changes everything" during a Wednesday briefing, saying shifts in the Senate will return money to New York and help the state fight the spread of the coronavirus. An Ossoff win would give the Senate a 50-50 split along party lines, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaker vote. And New Yorkers have been crime victims as far as I'm concerned by the theft of the federal government," he said. The state saw its first confirmed diagnosis of the new, apparently more contagious virus variant this week, detected in Saratoga Springs. Total coronavirus hospitalizations in the state Wednesday stood at 8,655 and there were 161 new deaths due to the virus.

Jon Ossoff claims victory in close Georgia Senate race as vote count continues Democrat Jon Ossoff claimed victory in the Georgia Senate runoff race against Republican Senator David Perdue as votes were still being counted. CBS News has not yet projected a winner in the race, but Ossoff held a razor-thin margin over Perdue on Wednesday morning. Watch Ossoff's remarks.

Trump and Republicans face reckoning as Democrats turn out in Georgia CBS News projecting Democrat Raphael Warnock will win his Georgia Senate runoff, but the other election between Democratic Jon Ossoff and Republican Senator David Perdue is still too close to call. Now, Republicans and President Trump face a reckoning after losing the White House and possibly the Senate. CBS News senior national correspondent Mark Strassmann reports from Decatur, Georgia, and CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns joins CBSN from Atlanta with the latest developments.

Democrat Jon Ossoff declared victory Wednesday morning in one of two Georgia Senate runoff elections. CBS News, however, has not projected a winner in the race, although Ossoff currently holds a slight edge over his Republican opponent David Perdue. "This campaign has been about health and jobs and justice for the people of this state, for all the people of this state, and they will be my guiding principles as I serve this state," Ossoff said. Noting the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Ossoff urged Georgians to "unite now to beat this," and vowed to support economic relief to both the state and the American people. Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff speaks with members of the media at Dunbar Neighborhood Center on January 05, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Warnock projected to beat Loeffler, Ossoff gains edge over Perdue in Georgia Senate runoffs Democrats have picked up at least one Senate seat in Georgia's special elections, according to CBS News data. CBS News projects Reverend Raphael Warnock has defeated his Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler, while, Jon Ossoff is now taking the lead over Republican incumbent Senator David Perdue. Mark Strassmann reports.

How outcome of Georgia Senate runoffs could affect Biden's agenda If both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff can prevail in Tuesday's runoff election, Democrats would take control of the Senate. CBS News correspondent Nikole Killion joins CBSN's "Red & Blue" anchor Elaine Quijano to discuss how the outcome of these races could impact President-elect Joe Biden's chances of moving legislation through Congress.

Both Senate runoff elections in Georgia were too close to call early Wednesday, according to NBC News, as Democratic Rev. The contests will determine which party holds the Senate majority for the next two years. Warnock led Loeffler with roughly 98% of the vote counted early Wednesday morning, according to NBC. "I am going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia, no matter who you cast your vote for in this election." Both elections went to runoffs after no candidate garnered more than 50% of the vote in the general election.

Control of the Senate hangs in the balance as Georgia votes in runoffs Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are hoping to unseat Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the Georgia runoffs. The GOP needs just one win to hang onto control of the Senate. Mark Strassmann reports.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks in Atlanta, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, as he campaigns for Georgia Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. President-elect Joe Biden went to Atlanta a day before the Georgia Senate runoff to do more than boost the two Democrats in Tuesday's election. As he stumped for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Biden stressed that votes in Georgia will ripple beyond the Peach State to shape the success of the incoming president's agenda nationwide. One GOP win means Republicans hold the chamber — and more sway over what policy emerges from Washington. Still, a Senate led by GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can steamroll Biden at every turn — on legislation, executive branch nominees and judges.

Julián Castro on Latino and youth vote in Georgia Senate runoffs Former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro is campaigning on behalf of Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock ahead of Georgia's two Senate runoffs on Tuesday. Castro joins CBSN's "Red & Blue" to discuss why the Latino and youth vote are crucial to Democrats' victory.

Joe Biden speaks at rally for Georgia Senate runoffs "Georgia, the whole nation is looking to you," President-elect Joe Biden said at a rally for Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock the day before the state's runoff elections will determine which party controls the Senate. Watch Biden's full remarks.

President-elect Joe Biden revved up the Democratic base in Atlanta on Monday, ahead of the all-important Senate runoff election in Georgia. Mr. Biden urged voters to cast their ballots for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, as they face off against current Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. "We won three times here," Mr. Biden joked, a reference to the Republican challenges against the election results that still ultimately resulted in his victory. Mr. Biden isn't the only high-profile person in the Peach State on Monday. Mr. Biden won Georgia by more than 11,00 votes, one of the biggest surprise flips in the 2020 presidential race.

Randal Nardone, a co-founder of investment firm Fortress, gave $2,800 to Perdue that same day. Jane Goldman, who runs real estate firm Solil Management, gave $2,800 to both Perdue and Loeffler through the last two weeks of December. In late December, Robert Grammig, a partner at law firm Holland & Knight, gave $2,800 to Loeffler. Karen Pritzker, an investor and billionaire heir to the Pritzker family fortune, gave $2,800 to Ossoff on Dec. 23, records show. George Van Amson, a longtime managing director at Morgan Stanley, gave $1,000 to Warnock's campaign Dec. 14.

Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff discusses "a new era in American politics" Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff has emerged as the best funded Senate candidate in U.S. history. His challenge to unseat Republican incumbent Senator David Perdue, and Georgia's other contest between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler will decide which party controls the Senate chamber for the first two years of the Biden administration. Just two days out from Election Day, Ossoff joins CBSN's Lana Zak to discuss everything from the Trump administration's "outrageous incompetence" to his thoughts on expanding the Supreme Court.

Georgia Democratic Senate candidates Raphael Warnock (R) and Jon Ossoff (L) bump elbows during a "It's Time to Vote" drive-in rally on December 28, 2020 in Stonecrest, Georgia. More than 3 million Georgia residents have already cast their votes in the two Jan. 5 runoff races, a historic turnout in a contest that determines whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate this year. If Perdue and Loeffler win their races, Republicans would hold a 52 seat Senate majority that would allow them to block some of President-elect Joe Biden's agenda. The Democratic caucus would have 50 seats if Ossoff and Warnock win. And a tie-breaking vote from Vice President-elect Harris would give Democrats control of the Senate after six years of a GOP majority.

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia entered quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, his campaign said Thursday, less than a week before the Republican's runoff election against Democrat Jon Ossoff. "This morning, Senator Perdue was notified that he came into close contact with someone on the campaign who tested positive for COVID-19," Perdue's campaign said in a statement. "Both Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but following his doctor's recommendations and in accordance with CDC guidelines, they will quarantine," the campaign said. "The Senator and his wife have been tested regularly throughout the campaign, and the team will continue to follow CDC guidelines. She did not test positive for the virus.

Religious Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPIs, in Georgia and across the country are not a monolith. Yet amid a Black-White political and religious divide, Asian American Christian communities represent untapped voter networks for political parties. But candidates on both sides of the aisle have largely overlooked the role of religion for Asian American voters who could help decide an election expected to come down to razor-thin margins. A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that a plurality of Asian Americans in the U.S., about 42%, identify as Christian. "There hasn't been the same kind of concentrated effort to Asian Americans of any religious background or Asian Americans as a whole amongst the Democrats until pretty recently."

More than 275,000 political ads have aired in the state since Nov. 5, according to AdImpact, which tracks TV and radio spending. AdvertisementThe two Democratic candidates, Warnock and Jon Ossoff, lead their Republican opponents, Sens. The closest thing to a respite from political ads comes in the 3 a.m. hour. “We are using a scalpel, not a bludgeon,” said the group’s political director, Sacha Haworth. Republicans and their allied groups’ ads warn of the consequences of handing control of the Senate to Democrats.

Washington — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will head to Georgia to campaign for Democratic Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff just before voters head to the polls January 5 for the pair of runoff elections. Mr. Biden will travel to Atlanta to stump for the two Democrats on Monday, January 4, his campaign announced. The upcoming visits to Georgia will be the second trips for both Mr. Biden and Harris to boost support for the Democrat hopefuls ahead of the runoff elections. Ossoff raked in $107 million between October 15 and December 15, making him the best-funded Senate candidate of all time. Early voting began December 14, and as of Monday, more than 2.3 million Georgia voters have cast ballots during this period, with 1.5 million voting in-person and another 800,000 by mail.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (R) and Raphael Warnock (L) of Georgia wave to supporters during a rally on November 15, 2020 in Marietta, Georgia. The two Democratic Senate candidates, who have advocated for larger direct payments, wasted no time in responding to Trump's move and criticizing their opponents. In the crucial Georgia Senate runoff races, Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are using President Donald Trump's latest push for larger stimulus checks to bash incumbent GOP Sens. Donald Trump is right, Congress should swiftly increase direct payments to $2,0000," Warnock said in a statement Wednesday. Perdue and Loeffler have blamed Democrats for stalling efforts to pass a relief package.