(Reuters)

Democrats won two US Senate races in Georgia on Wednesday (January 6), achieving a surprise sweep in a former Republican stronghold that gives them control of Congress and greater power to advance President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.

Democrat Jon Ossoff drew 50.3% and Republican David Perdue had 49.7% with 98% of the expected vote in, according to Edison Research. That pushed Ossoff’s lead beyond the margin needed to avoid a possible recount, and Edison said it expected his lead to continue to grow.

Warnock, a Baptist preacher from Martin Luther King Jr.’s former church, with 50.9 per cent of the vote beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler (49.3%) to become the first black senator in the deep South state’s history.

The results give Democrats narrow 51-49 control of both chambers of Congress, making it easier to appoint liberal-leaning judges and advance legislative priorities from coronavirus relief to climate change when Biden takes office on January 20.