The 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020, and on January 5, 2021 (as a runoff), to elect the Class III member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated appointed incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler. The first round of the election was held on November 3, 2020; however, no candidate received a majority of the vote, so the top two candidates—Warnock and Loeffler—advanced to a runoff on January 5, 2021, which Warnock won narrowly.

The special election was prompted by the December 2019 resignation of Johnny Isakson. Georgia governor Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler as the interim replacement pending the special election.

Under Georgia law, no primary election took place for the special election; all candidates, regardless of party, were placed on the same ballot (known as a nonpartisan blanket primary, or "jungle primary"), and the election was held on November 3, 2020. Warnock received the most votes with 32.9%, and Loeffler came in second with 25.9%. No candidate received more than 50% of the vote, so the top two candidates advanced to a runoff election on January 5, 2021.

The runoff was held concurrently with the regular Georgia Class II Senate election, in which Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican David Perdue, also in a runoff on January 5. Following the November 3, 2020 Senate elections, Republicans held 50 Senate seats, and the Democratic caucus—46 registered Democrats and two allied independents—had 48. Because of this, the two Georgia runoffs determined the balance of the United States Senate under the incoming Biden administration. Winning both races gave the Democratic caucus 50 Senate seats, an effective majority with Democratic vice president Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes. The extraordinarily high political stakes caused the races to attract significant attention nationwide and globally.

Major media outlets, including Decision Desk HQ, the Associated Press, The New York Times, and NBC News, called the election for Warnock in the early hours of January 6, just minutes after he declared victory. Though Loeffler vowed to challenge the results after she returned from the electoral vote certification in Washington,*

she conceded on January 7. Ossoff and Warnock became the first Democrats to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in the 2000 special election. Warnock is the first Black senator from Georgia, as well as the first Black Democrat from the South elected to the Senate. Though Warnock is the first Democratic senator from this seat since the latter election, hours later Ossoff was declared the winner in the regular Senate election. The two elections mark the first time since the 1994 United States Senate election in Tennessee and the concurrent special election that both Senate seats in a state have flipped from one party to the other in a single election cycle. This was also the first time the Democrats achieved this since West Virginia's 1958 Senate elections. The election results were certified on January 19, 2021, with the senators-elect taking office on January 20, marking the first time since 2003 that Democrats held both of Georgia’s Senate seats and making them the first Democratic U.S. Senators from Georgia since 2005. Loeffler would later go on to serve as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in 2025 during Donald Trump's second term in office.

Background On August 28, 2019, Isakson announced that he would resign from the Senate effective December 31, 2019, due to his deteriorating health. This triggered a special election to fill the remainder of his term. On September 17, 2019, Georgia governor Brian Kemp launched a website inviting Georgia citizens to submit their résumés to be considered for appointment. President Donald Trump advocated the appointment of Representative Doug Collins. Kemp appointed Loeffler to fill the seat until the 2020 special election; she took office on January 6, 2020.

Candidates

Democratic Party Despite the large number of candidates in the special election, by October 4, 2020, the Democratic Party had largely consolidated around Warnock's candidacy and had pressured other Democratic candidates, such as Matt Lieberman, to drop out to avoid vote-splitting.

While she had not been treated as a major contender and was largely ignored by pollsters, Deborah Jackson received 6.6% of the vote in the initial round of the election, being the second-best performing Democrat, and outperformed fellow Democrats such as Matt Lieberman and Ed Tarver, who pollsters had paid attention to. Al Jazeera attributed her performance, in part, to her being the first Democrat listed in the order of candidates that appeared on the ballot, and her being a familiar figure in the Democratic stronghold of DeKalb County.

Advanced to runoff Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church

Eliminated Deborah Jackson, attorney and former mayor of Lithonia Jamesia James, businesswoman and U.S. Air Force veteran Tamara Johnson-Shealey, businesswoman and frequent candidate Matt Lieberman, businessman, activist, and son of Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator from Connecticut Joy Felicia Slade, physician Ed Tarver, former United States attorney for the Southern District of Georgia and former state senator Richard Dien Winfield, professor and candidate for Georgia's 10th congressional district in 2018

Declined Stacey Abrams, nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018 and former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives (endorsed Warnock) Sherry Boston, DeKalb County District Attorney Jason Carter, nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2014, former state senator, and grandson of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter (endorsed Warnock) Stacey Evans, candidate for Governor of Georgia in 2018 and former state representative (ran for State House) Jen Jordan, state senator Lucy McBath, incumbent U.S. representative for (ran for re-election) Michelle Nunn, CEO of CARE USA and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014; daughter of former senator Sam Nunn Jon Ossoff, documentary filmmaker and nominee for in 2017 (ran successfully in the regular Class 2 seat) Mike Thurmond, DeKalb County chief executive, former labor Ccmmissioner of Georgia, and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010 Teresa Tomlinson, former mayor of Columbus (ran in the regular Class 2 seat) Nikema Williams, state senator and chair of the Georgia Democratic Party (later ran for U.S. House) Sally Yates, former United States deputy attorney general

Endorsements

Republican Party

Advanced to runoff Kelly Loeffler, incumbent U.S. senator

Eliminated Doug Collins, U.S. representative for Derrick Grayson, minister, network engineer, software developer, perennial candidate, U.S. Navy veteran Annette Davis Jackson, businesswoman and candidate for Georgia State Senate in 2016 Kandiss Taylor, student services coordinator for Appling County Board of Education

Withdrawn Wayne Johnson, former chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid (remained on ballot) Ervan Katari Miller, perennial candidate

Declined Nick Ayers, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence Ashley Bell, regional administrator for the Small Business Administration Paul Broun, former U.S. representative from Buddy Carter, incumbent U.S. representative for Geoff Duncan, incumbent lieutenant governor of Georgia Stuart Frohlinger, finance expert Tom Graves, incumbent U.S. representative from Karen Handel, former U.S. representative from and former Georgia secretary of state (ran for U.S. House) Scott Hilton, former state representative (endorsed Loeffler) Jan Jones, Speaker pro tempore of the Georgia House of Representatives Brian Kemp, incumbent governor of Georgia (endorsed Loeffler) Butch Miller, state senator B. J. Pak, United States attorney for the Northern District of Georgia and former state representative Sonny Perdue, United States secretary of agriculture and former governor of Georgia Tom Price, former United States secretary of health and human services and former U.S. representative for Endorsements

Libertarian Party Declared Brian Slowinski, Republican candidate for Georgia's 10th congressional district in 2014

Green Party Declared John "Green" Fortuin

Independents Declared Al Bartell, businessman, former Republican and Vietnam-era Air Force veteran Allen Buckley, attorney, accountant, Libertarian nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004, 2008, 2016 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006 Michael Todd Greene Rod Mack (write-in candidate), member of the City of Hapeville Board of Appeals and candidate in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election Valencia Stovall, state representative

Special election

Polling

Jungle primary