Former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) conceded to Democratic candidate, now Sen.-elect, Jon Ossoff late Friday, giving Democrats 50 seats in the United States Senate and effective control of that body as of January 20 when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is sworn in as vice president.

Republicans now have only 50 seats in the Senate in the 117th Congress. The Constitution provides that the vice president has the authority to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate.

“Bonnie and I are deeply grateful for the support millions of Georgians have shown us this year and in the six years since we first ran for the United States Senate. Serving our home state has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am very proud of how our team in Georgia and Washington, D.C. fought every day to deliver real results for all eleven million Georgians,” Perdue said in a Friday statement.

“Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia’s 50% rule, and now I want to congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win. Bonnie and I will continue to pray for our wonderful state and our great country. May God continue to bless Georgia and the United States of America,” he concluded.

Democrats have now won both of the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections held Tuesday. On Thursday, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) conceded to her Democrat opponent: Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Ossoff has 50.5 percent of the vote and Perdue has 49.5 percent of the vote.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported:

More than 4.4 million people voted in the runoffs, which attracted intense national attention because of the high stakes of the races. Warnock won by about 85,000 votes — roughly 2 percentage points — and Ossoff was up by roughly 45,000.

National outlets projected both Ossoff and Warnock to win on Wednesday, and a day later Loeffler posted a video congratulating her opponent. But Perdue’s campaign pointed to an earlier statement promising to “mobilize every available resource and exhaust every legal recourse” for his campaign.

He conceded after election returns showed Ossoff with a widening advantage — and no path among outstanding ballots for the Republican to overtake the lead.

On Thursday prior to Perdue’s concession, CNN Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he anticipated certifying both Democrat U.S. Senate victories before January 20, the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, but did not guarantee the certification would be completed prior to that time.