Yesterday and the weeks prior, more than 160 million Americans cast their ballots in the 2020 General Election. This cycle afforded the electorate an opportunity to select the President of the United States, one-third of the United States Senate and all seats in the United States House of Representatives, in addition to state, local and other municipal positions.
While many of the outcomes are known, ballot counting is still underway in several states due to the massive shift to early and mail-in voting as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic deterring many from voting in person or trying to avoid crowds.
The presidential contest is one of those races yet to be determined. President Donald Trump currently trails former Vice President Joe Biden in the Electoral College tally 248 to 214. 270 is required to win. Several states have yet to announce results that will ultimately determine the winner, and it’s widely speculated that the outcome will not be known until tomorrow at the earliest.
Democrats are expected to maintain control of the House, but 49 seats have yet to be decided. Several races will result in runoff elections due to no candidate garnering a 50 percent plus one majority of the vote, including Louisiana’s Fifth Congressional District which is an open seat race with the retirement of Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA). Of those Members of Congress running for election in rice-producing states and districts, a majority of the incumbents seeking re-election won their races.
The House Agriculture Committee will look much differently in the new Congress where new leadership will be in place on both sides of the aisle. In a huge blow to the agriculture community, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) was defeated by former Lieutenant Governor and GOP nominee Michelle Fischbach for Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District. With the retirement of Rep. Mike Conaway, the top Republican slot on the House Agriculture Committee becomes available next Congress and jockeying for the position is already underway. However, both leadership roles will ultimately be decided by their respective party and are not expected to be known until early next year.
Control of the Senate is yet to be known with five races still to be called. It has already been determined that one special election will take place in early January in Georgia to determine who serves the remaining term of former GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat who retired early due to health issues, current incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, or her Democratic opponent, Raphael Warnock.
It’s likely that Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will remain lead Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, while many expect Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) will take over the helm from retiring Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) for the top Republican slot. At the moment, Senate make up includes 48 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
“On behalf of USA Rice, I’d like to thank all of our members who voted – the ultimate and arguably the most fundamental involvement in the political process,” said Ben Mosely, USA Rice vice president of government affairs. “We join all Americans in anticipation for the final outcomes of our elections and look forward to continuing our work to secure policies that benefit the U.S. rice industry.”