The Randolph Democratic Town Committee collectively contributed $162 to the Georgia Senate elections, helping the two Democrats win the Jan. 5 runoff election and giving the Democratic Party a majority in the U.S. Senate for 2021-22.

"We bundled donations to Fair Fight, and to the Georgia Democratic Party," said Sandi Cohen, the Randolph Dems' treasurer. "Several members also made individual contributions to the (Ralph) Warnock and (Jon) Ossoff campaigns; and we also bundled $190.16 to the Biden/Harris campaign back in October."

Fair Fight is the group founded by Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, to fight voter suppression in Georgia. Abrams lost the 2018 Georgia Governor election in what some view as a case of voter suppression of African-American citizens. Fair Fight registered thousands of minority voters since 2018, most of whom voted for Democrats.

Warnock and Ossoff won the two U.S. Senate seats against two Republican Senate incumbents. The runoff election on Jan. 5 took place because no candidate got more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 3 elections. Georgia election law calls for a runoff of the top two vote-getters in that case; Massachusetts doesn't have runoff elections but many states do. Some view runoff elections themselves as another form of minority voter suppression.

"We were honored to donate to these crucial elections," Cohen said. "We stand in unity with our fellow Georgia Democrats to restore democratic values for our country."

Warnock and Ossoff's presence splits the U.S. Senate to 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris at the tie-breaker vote,giving the Democrats the Senate majority for the 117th Congress until the 2022 elections. The majority party in the Senate decides who chairs each Senate committee, and hence sets the legislative agenda. The Republicans have held the Senate majority since the 2014 elections.

"The Randolph Dems recognized the importance of the Georgia Senate elections and we were thrilled to help Democrats regain the Senate majority," said Jesse Gordon, chair of the RDTC. "The Senate majority will help (President) Biden implement his platform to unify America in recovery from the pandemic, from the economic recession, and from the chaos of the Trump era."

The RDTC next virtual meeting will occur at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 via Zoom: https://bit.ly/3h6zOjs or call in to 301-715 8592 with meeting ID#963 398 8959. For information about the RDTC, visit https://bit.ly/3sWl2T0.

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