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'All eyes are on Georgia' | Tuesday elections will decide which party controls the Senate

More than 2.8 million Georgians have voted early.

WASHINGTON — For most of the country, election season is over. But in Georgia, two pivotal races have entered the home stretch. The results will decide who controls the Senate.

Incumbent Georgia Republicans, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, are fighting to earn another term. Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are working to convince voters to send them to Washington instead of in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff election.

Ossoff aims to unseat Perdue; Warnock wants Loeffler's seat. Both pairs are locked in tight, high-stakes races.

If Warnock and Ossoff both win, seats will be split 50-50 between Republican and Democratic control in the Senate. With Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris serving as the constitutional tiebreaker on deadlocked votes once she's sworn in, Democrats would take control of the Senate.

Democrats retained their majority in the House and won the presidency with Joe Biden's victory in November. If they flip the Senate, Democrats would hold power in both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time in years.

However, if even just one of Georgia's two incumbents keeps their seat, the GOP will maintain their majority in the Senate.

The races, according to polling from our sister station in Atlanta, are tight. Both are within the margin of error.

More than 2.8 million Georgians took advantage of the state's early voting window, which closed Thursday.

Now the focus of the campaigns turns fully to Tuesday, when voters will have one last chance to make their choice.

President Donald Trump, President-Elect Biden, Vice President-Elect Harris and others are expected to hold get out the vote rallies in Georgia before polls open Tuesday morning.

The candidates are also crisscrossing the state themselves, making a final pitch to voters. 

At least for the moment, however, Senator David Perdue is not among them. On Thursday, his campaign announced he had been in "close contact" with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. 

In a statement, the campaign said Perdue and his wife both tested negative, but, in compliance with "CDC guidelines," would be quarantining.

The full statement from Perdue's campaign said: 

"This morning, Senator Perdue was notified that he came into close contact with someone on the campaign who tested positive for COVID-19. 

Both Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but following his doctor's recommendations and in accordance with CDC guidelines, they will quarantine. The Senator and his wife have been tested regularly throughout the campaign, and the team will continue to follow CDC guidelines. Further information will be provided when available."

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