Democrat Raphael Warnock wins one of the twin US Senate races in Georgia, control of Congress still hangs in balance

Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of two runoff elections for the US Senate being held in Georgia, according to multiple US media outlets including the Associated Press, NBC News and CNN.

Biden team on Georgia election: "We have a good shot"

The source acknowledged Democratic victories in the state would make it easier for the President-elect to move his agenda through Congress but also argued he’s looking to accomplish some of his goals through bipartisan pushes.

“Certainly winning would ease the path for a lot of what the President-elect wants to get done,” the source said. “But we intend to achieve bipartisan success” regardless of the outcome in the runoffs.

The President-elect in recent days has also framed this race as one that will impact Covid-19 relief and vaccinations, arguing that Democratic wins would help get $2,000 stimulus checks to American families faster and provide necessary funding to local and state governments for vaccinations. 

Biden and his team have devoted significant time and resources to the runoffs in the state as they hope to boost the Democratic candidates.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have each campaigned in the state twice, including trips in the last 48 hours of the race. They have poured $18 million into the runoffs and deployed staffers to work with the teams on the ground.

Two Georgia counties have already surpassed in-person voting totals for Election Day

From CNN's Nick Valencia and Holmes Lybrand

At least two counties in Georgia have surpassed in-person Election Day voting totals from November 2020 today. 

With roughly 90 minutes left to go until polls are slated to close, DeKalb County has surpassed in-person, Election Day voting from November today, a county spokesperson told CNN.

The county, which is one of the most populous in the state, saw 47,561 in-person Election Day votes in the general election, and as of roughly 5:20 p.m., the county had seen 51,000 in-person votes today. 

Forsyth County, located further north outside of Atlanta, has also surpassed its 2020 Election Day in-person voting total, Voter Registrations and Elections Department Director Mandi Smith told CNN. In November, 13,630 votes were cast on Election Day. 

Polls for Georgia's crucial runoff Senate elections are set to close in the state at 7 p.m. ET. The twin US Senate runoffs in Georgia mean everything in American government for the next two years.

President-elect Joe Biden will either have a Republican-led Senate working to block him or a (barely) Democratic-controlled Senate trying to help him out.

And the races will determine whether Republicans have the advantage or there's a 50-50 split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris giving Democrats the edge.

But it's not clear how quickly we'll know the results. CNN took until Nov. 13 to project Biden's victory in Georgia's presidential contest, 10 days after Election Day.

There's plenty of reason to expect a repeat. Early voting, the counting of which helped drag out the presidential results, is nearly keeping track in these special runoffs.

In Fulton County, the state's most populous, the elections administrator said Monday that the early vote totals were larger for January than for November.

Republicans in the state have expressed concern that there may be a Democratic edge in the early vote totals. Which means that Republicans may need a strong showing on Election Day again.

That's where President Trump's feud with Republican state officials over his own loss in the state could mean the difference in the GOP having a majority going forward.

Pence faces pressure from Trump to thwart Electoral College vote

President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised with his faithful vice president the notion he could delay or obstruct the Electoral College certification set to occur in Congress on Wednesday, people familiar with the conversations say, setting up a test of Mike Pence's loyalty at the culmination of his four years of service.

Trump, based on arguments from a fringe set of lawyers and certain White House officials, has argued that instead of simply acting in his constitutionally-prescribed pro forma role, Pence could delay the certification beyond Wednesday and ultimately force the question of who won the election to either the House of Representatives or the Supreme Court.

"Let them sue," has been the message from the group to Trump, leading him to believe he could again end up at the Supreme Court.

Pence, who had lunch with Trump on Tuesday at the White House, has previously sought to explain his ceremonial role to the President in the hopes of easing pressure on himself in the lead-up to the January 6 joint session of Congress.

A person close to him said Tuesday he would "follow the law and Constitution."

But Trump has appeared undeterred, and on Tuesday made his desires known explicitly on Twitter.

"The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors," Trump declared falsely, lending credence to an erroneous theory that Pence can overturn the results of the election during Wednesday's tally of Electoral College votes and again pressuring his top lieutenant to act outside constitutional bounds.

Trump's Twitter message came the morning after he riled up a crowd of supporters in Georgia using Pence's upcoming engagement on the Senate floor.

"I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you," Trump said Monday night during a political rally in Georgia, where his public arm-twisting was met with cheers. "Of course, if he doesn't come through, I won't like him as much."