Ballotpedia Coffee Club: What is a runoff election

What is a runoff election?

Last updated December 2020

With the partisan balance of the U.S. Senate left to be decided by two runoff elections, we wanted to give you some background and context as we wrap up 2020.

A runoff election is a second election held to determine a winner when no candidate in the first election met the required threshold for victory. Runoff elections can be held for both primary elections and general elections. Two states—Georgia and Louisiana—require runoff elections in a general election when no candidate receives a majority of the vote.

Runoff elections were implemented by the Georgia state legislature in the 1960s. Two other Senate runoffs took place before these ones. In 2008, Saxby Chambliss (R) won re-election in a runoff. The first Senate runoff occurred in 1992. Incumbent Wyche Fowler (D) lost in the runoff.

Control of the U.S. Senate as a result of the 2020 elections has not been determined and will come down to Georgia's runoff elections on January 5, 2021. Republicans have secured 50 seats and Democrats have secured 48 seats (including among them two seats held by independents who caucus with Democrats). Both the regular and special elections in Georgia advanced to runoffs. Democrats would need to win both Georgia's Senate races to split the chamber 50-50, with the vice president (starting in 2021, Democrat Kamala Harris) having the tie-breaking vote. Republicans would need to win one seat to maintain their majority.

Now that you have that background, learn more about the two January 5, 2021 runoffs.