WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Democrats have ensured a clear majority in the Senate by winning the Georgia run-off.
Senator Raphael Warnock's victory over his Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker gave the Democrats crucial 51 seats in the 100-member Upper House.
None of the candidates had secured 50 percent of the votes in the mid-term polls held in November.
With 99 percent of votes counted in the tight run-off, 51.4 percent went to Warnock,and 48.6 percent to Walker.
Delivering victory speech in Atlanta, Warcnock said, 'It is my honour to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: the people have spoken!'
The 53-year-old Baptist pastor became the first black senator in Georgia when he was first elected in January 2021.
The outright majority in the Senate gives the Democrats the advantage of passing bills, allows advance President Joe Biden's nominees more easily, and ensures the majority on committees.
If all Democrat senators vote on party lines in the Upper House, Vice President Kamala Harris will have no need to cast the tie-breaking vote as has been in place over the last two years in an evenly divided chamber.
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