Georgia voters could be key to the U.S. Senate election

Georgia voters could be key to the power dynamics of the U.S. Senate on December 6, as runoffs in the state come to a close.

More than 400,000 Georgians have cast their ballot with early voting taking place, according to the Washington Post.

The runoff is between Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. After Libertarian Chase Oliver took 2.1% of the cast ballots, neither won the majority of the vote.

Why Does Georgia Runoffs Matter To Democrats?

Democrats won the Senate majority, as a 50-50 Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris could break the tie, regardless of how the runoff election turns out.

What is at stake is whether the Senate will end up with 50 - 50 between Democrats and Republicans, or if Democrats will have 51-member majority, which would remove the need to forge a power-sharing agreement.

Power-sharing agreements take a long time to establish and have historically slowed down the legislative process.

What Does Divided Government Mean For Personal Finances?

While the Senate requires a supermajority of two-thirds of the body to pass most legislations, a 51-member majority would give Democrats the ability to confirm judicial nominations, giving President Joe Biden the ability to fill judicial vacancies.

There are still 118 federal judicial vacancies that need to be filled, according to Vox.

After the November election, Democrats would have the chance to reject bills approved by the House, which is under Republican control, which would give them the ability to set the agenda for Congress.

A Democrat-controlled Senate can have a direct effect on the stock market.

In July, shares of several electric vehicle-charging companies, including ChargePoint Holdings Inc CHPT, Blink Charging Co BLNK and EVgo Inc EVGO, jumped after Senator Joe Manchin reversed his opposition to a bill that includes provisions to address climate change.

The Senate's configuration can have a huge impact on the energy industry, and those affected by climate change policies.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was backed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Manchin.

The law wants to raise $738 billion and authorize $391 billion in spending on energy and climate change, and will set goals to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to 40% below 2005 levels.

The bill also adds provisions related to electric vehicles and clean mobility, which can affect the sales of Tesla Inc TSLA and other EV manufacturers.