Georgia Senate election results: Jon Ossoff declared runoff winner as ‘militia gathers’ at state Capitol

Democrat Raphael Warnock has defeated incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in their battle for a Senate seat in Georgia, according to the Associated Press.

His victory is another sign of a major political shift in the longtime Republican stronghold, coming nearly two months after President-elect Joe Biden took the Peach State in November. Some Republican officials already were pointing blame at one man - Donald Trump.

Here’s the full story from our team in Washington:

Donald Trump said on the eve of the Georgia runoff that “If they win, I’ll get no credit. If they lose, they’re going to blame Trump.” At least he got something right, as our US correspondent Andrew Buncombe writes.

The outgoing president took to Twitter overnight to criticise the election shortly before Raphael Warnock was declared the winner in his race against Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler.

Graeme Massie has the latest angry posts from the White House.

Should Jon Ossoff secure victory over David Perdue (he’s winning, see below), the 100-seat Senate would be split straight down the middle, with 50 seats each and Democratic vice president-elect Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote, giving the blues the advantage.

But is it as simple as that? 

What about the conservative end of the Democratic Party? Can the likes of West Virginia’s Joe Manchin be relied upon?

Griffin Connolly examines the issues.

The inquest appears to be already beginning within the GOP, with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s rejection of President Trump’s insistence on upping stimulus relief cheques from $600 to $2,000 looking like being the fatal (and entirely self-inflicted) wound.

Here’s the miserable scene at the party’s local headquarters, where “Only of a Lonely Heart” by Yes (tune!) is being played to a muted response.

The Georgia-based voter registration activist will again rightly receive the plaudits for organising this triumph for the Democrats.

Here she is congratulating the reverend for his win over Loeffler.

It’s certainly looking like a done deal for Ossoff too, with NBC guru Dave Wasserman calling it three hours ago (though Twitter disagreed). 

He points out that the win will be tight and is likely to be contested, with a recount demand widely expected from the Perdue camp.

Since then, Ossoff’s camp have issued the following highly positive statement.

With 98 per cent of the vote counted, things are looking very nice for the Democrats right now.

This could further tip the scales.

A lot of love going around for this vintage tweet from the South Carolina senator and Trump loyalist from 10 October in which he warns of a conservative doomsday scenario that could be about to become a real possibility.

The front page of this morning’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution is in.

As we await confirmation of an increasingly likely Jon Ossoff victory, Republicans are already venting their frustration at the president’s interventions in the race, Trump pushing his own mad election conspiracies at his rally in Dalton on Monday night and bickering with party elders rather than making a meaningful case for the candidates.

Today, of course, November’s general election results will be certified in the Senate, with his last ditch attempt to pressure his deputy, Mike Pence, into turning his ceremonial role in proceedings into all-out revolution seemingly falling flat, with Pence preferring to play by the rules and then flee his wrath.

Here’s Andrew Buncombe with news of their “tense” lunch yesterday.