What Happened This Week In Washington — And Georgia

Over the past few days, $600 economic stimulus payments have been hitting millions of Americans’ bank accounts, which is another reminder of a dynamic that roiled this campaign — the debate over whether the stimulus checks were high enough. Trump supported $2,000 payments and even temporarily delayed signing the stimulus bill in an attempt to pressure Congress to increase the payments, but it was Democrats — not Republicans — who tried to turn the $2,000 checks into an winning issue in the runoffs. As Perry wrote last week, public opinion was definitely on Democrats’ side, but it was harder to predict whether it would actually bring more voters into Warnock and Ossoff’s camps. If Warnock and/or Ossoff prevail, though, some Democrats might see it as a sign that they should lean into economic issues come election time.

One person who has to be liking what he’s seeing tonight? West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who — as the most moderate member of the Senate Democratic caucus — would wield tremendous power in a 50-50 Senate.

Where are there votes left to be counted? Well, a lot are in the Atlanta area. Less than 40 percent of the expected vote is in from each of Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties, three of the four biggest counties in the state — together, those three made up nearly a quarter of the November presidential vote, and perhaps only a third of their collective votes are in so far.