Newly minted Vice President Kamala Harris swore in Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D), who defeated Sens. David Perdue (R.) and Kelly Loeffler (R.) in Georgia‘s runoff elections on Jan. 5.
Harris also swore in her successor as California senator, former California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who will hold the seat through the scheduled end of Harris’s term in 2022.
The race between Perdue and Ossoff is much closer, with the candidates separated by about 3,000 votes and taking turns in the lead throughout the night.
Neither Loeffler nor Warnock reached the 50 percent threshold needed to win the general election in November, sending the race into a runoff. Warnock, who benefited from then-Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) running in the nonpartisan blanket primary alongside Loeffler, garnered roughly 33 percent of the vote at that time. Loeffler brought in around 26 percent.