If Warnock is elected, Democrats will have an extra seat on every committee, making it much easier to move nominees or legislation on party-line votes. “It’s always better with 51 because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees,” President Joe Biden said following Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s victory. “And that’s primarily why it’s significant. But it’s simply superior. The more numbers there are, the better.”

By Stacy M. Brown

Stacy M. Brown, Senior National Correspondent for NNPA Newswire @StacyBrownMedia

Just days before the Dec. 6 Georgia Senate runoff election, the state’s capital and most populous city, Atlanta, resembled an old Christmas fable: nothing seemed to be stirring.

“It’s almost as if there isn’t going to be a major election,” Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes relayed from Atlanta via internal Slack.

“There are literally no campaign signs anywhere,” declared Rolark Barnes.

Rolark Barnes saw only a few pro-Herschel Walker signs and “a sprinkling” of promotional material for Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock during her two-day visit to Georgia.

“It’s almost as if there’s a law against campaign signs,” she explained. However, a plethora of television commercials continue to air.

Atlanta does, in fact, have campaign sign regulations.

It is illegal to place them in a public right-of-way, including intersections, public roads, bridges, and sidewalks, without a permit. The city fines any campaign that violates the law, and officials remove such signs.

Still, the bigger picture is the election, which could either strengthen Democrats’ hold on the House of Representatives or give Republicans a fighting chance of blocking federal and even Supreme Court nominations.

Democrats gained one seat during the midterm elections when Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. Because Vice President Kamala Harris was the deciding vote, Democrats were assured of at least 50 seats and a majority.

A 51-49 margin, on the other hand, could free Democrats from conservative West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who blocked some of President Joe Biden’s agenda during his first two years in office.

With 51 votes, Democrats can now afford to lose a member and still pass legislation (though, with Republicans seizing control of the House, meaningful legislation is unlikely to pass in the next two years).

“Democrats need to gain every seat they can from the 2022 election cycle. Keeping the Senate this year is a huge accomplishment, but keeping it in two years will be a monumental task.”

 Political Analyst Chris Cillizza wrote.

“Democrats would prefer to begin the 2024 cycle with some breathing room provided by a Warnock victory.”

An evenly divided Senate “slows everything down,” according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “So it makes a significant difference to us.”

Furthermore, in a 50-50 Senate, committees are evenly divided between the two parties, necessitating extra steps when a vote is tied. This forces the majority party to hold votes on the Senate floor to advance bills or nominees.

If Warnock is elected, Democrats will have an extra seat on every committee, making it much easier to move nominees or legislation on party-line votes.

“It’s always better with 51 because we don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees,” Biden said after Fetterman’s victory. “And that’s primarily why it’s significant. But it’s simply superior. The more numbers there are, the better.”

With a 51-seat majority, Vice President Harris is not required to stay in Washington when the Senate votes.

Harris has already broken 26 ties in her first two years in office, more than doubling what former Vice President Mike Pence did in his four-year term.

Harris reminded everyone earlier this year that the nation’s first vice president, John Adams, cast 29 tie-breaking votes during his two terms from 1789 to 1797.

“As vice president, I also serve as president of the United States Senate. In that capacity, I broke John Adams’ record for the most tie-breaking votes cast in a single term,” Harris said in September.

“This kid from Oakland, California, who graduated from an HBCU, just broke John Adams’ record. We should all be aware of how history can change.”