Georgia GOP senator will resign at end of year, setting off a crucial 2020 special election

In huge news for the battle for the Senate, Georgia Republican Johnny Isakson announced Wednesday that he would resign from the chamber at the end of 2019 for health reasons. GOP Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement, and that person will need to defend the seat in a 2020 special election. The winner will be up for re-election again in 2022.

Georgia’s other Republican senator, David Perdue, will have to run for a full six-year term next year, and Democrats were already targeting him. A Democratic victory in one of the Peach State’s two seats would go a long way toward helping Team Blue turn its 53-47 deficit in the Senate into a majority, and it now has the tantalizing possibility of taking both. Georgia is still a tough state for Democrats, but it’s been moving to the left in recent years and will likely be fiercely contested in next year’s presidential campaign.