meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Mother Jones Podcast

BREAKING: Goodbye, Mitch. Democrats Win the Senate.

The Mother Jones Podcast

Mother Jones

Elections, News, Politics, Investigations, Scoops, Journalism

4.51.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2021

⏱️ 14 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

NOTE: This episode was recorded just before violence erupted on Capitol Hill when pro-Trump extremists, inflamed by the president, rampaged inside Congress.

Goodbye, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Hello, razor-thin Democratic control of the US Senate, and the chance for President-Elect Joe Biden to actually get stuff done. After a pair of neck-and-neck runoff contests in Georgia on Tuesday, Rev. Raphael Warnock will be the first Black senator in that state's history and the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate in the South—beating the incumbent appointee, Republican Senator Kelly Leoffler. And 33-year-old Jon Ossoff clinched his race against incumbent Republican Senator David Purdue. It has been decades since the state sent any Democrat to the Senate, and the clean sweep will mean that, come January 20, Democrats will control the Senate with a tie-breaker vote from newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris. That's obviously huge news for President Biden's agenda: It will be the first time Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency since President Obama's first term. Joining host Jamilah King to discuss the political legacy of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and what Democrats can do first with this new found power, is MoJo senior reporter, Ari Berman, who says Congress's first act should be obvious: expand voting rights across the country. But first, he gives something of an obituary for soon-to-be-former Senate leader, Mitch McConnell.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Goodbye, Mitch McConnell.

0:02.6

Hello, Democratic control of the US Senate

0:06.5

and the chance for President Joe Biden to govern. Hey gang, it's Jamila King here with a special breaking news edition of the Mother Jones

0:19.5

podcast.

0:20.8

It's official, Reverend Raphael Warnock is now the first black senator in

0:25.8

Georgia history and the first black Democrat to be elected to the Senate in the

0:30.6

South, beating Senator Kelly Leffler.

0:33.8

And John Osoff clinched his race against Senator David Perdue.

0:37.9

Two wins fought neck to neck, one result.

0:41.4

Democrats will now control the Senate with a tiebreaker vote from newly elected

0:46.4

Vice President Kamala Harris come January 20th. It will be the first time Democrats have controlled

0:52.3

both houses of Congress and the presidency

0:55.2

since Obama's first term.

0:57.4

Senior reporter from Mother Jones, Ari Berman is here. Ari, hello.

1:05.8

Hey, Jamilla, happy new year, and good to talk to you again.

1:08.4

Happy New Year to you. What was your first reaction to the news?

1:12.3

It was stunning. I mean it was honestly stunning. I was

1:16.8

surprised when Joe Biden carried Georgia and I was even more surprised when the two Democratic candidates for US Senate

1:27.8

appeared to win because runoff elections were designed specifically to prevent Democrats from winning and to prevent

1:36.2

black candidates in particular from winning.

1:39.9

So to have it be announced that Raphael Warnock is the first black US senator from

1:45.8

Georgia and the first black Democratic senator from the south.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mother Jones, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mother Jones and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.