Vox Sentences - What Dems can do with a 51st senator

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Raphael Warnock wins Georgia’s US Senate seat; Germany foils suspected coup plot.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Raphael Warnock wins Georgia’s Senate runoff

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

• Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) defeated former football star Herschel Walker (R) in Georgia’s Senate runoff, strengthening Democrats’ power in the upper chamber. [Vox / Li Zhou]
• With nearly all votes counted, Warnock earned 51 percent of the vote compared to Walker’s 49 percent. Democrats will have a 51-49 Senate majority. [FiveThirtyEight / Maya Sweedler and Nathaniel Rakich]
• Having a 51st senator means Democrats can afford to lose a vote or two and won’t have to rely only on Vice President Kamala Harris to break ties. [New York Times / Carl Hulse]
• Warnock’s win also means Senate Democrats will hold majorities in committees, making it easier to confirm Biden’s judicial and administrative nominees. [The Hill / Brett Samuels]
• Still, Republicans will take control of the House in January, which will likely make it difficult for Democrats to advance their legislative priorities. [BBC / Anthony Zurcher]
• Walker’s defeat concludes a lackluster 2022 midterm performance for the GOP and Donald Trump-backed candidates. [Associated Press / Bill Barrow and Jeff Amy]

Germany arrests dozens in a coup plot

• German authorities on Wednesday arrested 25 people connected to a far-right terrorist organization that sought to overthrow the government. [NYT / Katrin Bennhold and Erika Solomon]
• Three thousand police officers executed raids across Germany to apprehend the group, which included military vets and a man from a noble family. [NBC News / Andy Eckardt and Patrick Smith]
• Prosecutors say the suspects believe the so-called “deep state” rules Germany and planned armed attacks on federal officials and institutions. [Deutsche Welle]
• The group was fueled by other conspiracy theories, including QAnon and the belief that the postwar German government is illegitimate. [AP / Frank Jordans]
• Germany has faced a rise in domestic extremism since the far-right Alternative for Germany Party won parliament seats in 2017. [CNN / Zahid Mahmood and Chris Stern]

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Tuesday, a jury found the Trump Organization guilty of 17 counts of tax fraud and other crimes. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]

• The House will likely vote Wednesday on a national defense spending bill that includes an amendment repealing the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for military service members. [CNBC / Spencer Kimball]
• Juul settled over 5,000 lawsuits to address claims the e-cigarette company marketed its products to kids and teens. The amount was undisclosed. [Wall Street Journal / Jennifer Maloney]
• A father shot the man convicted of murdering his son in the Taliban’s first public execution since regaining control over Afghanistan. [BBC / Matt Murphy and Aalia Farzan]

"One seat may not seem like much for most folks, but for Sen. [Chuck] Schumer and the rest of his colleagues, it could mean all the difference in the world.”

[Jim Manley, a former staffer for Majority Leader Harry Reid, on Warnock’s win / Vox]

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