Georgia governor's debate: Key takeaways from verbal duel between Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams

Biden and Trump campaigned for their candidates in person on the eve of the election, though some Republicans feared Trump may have confused voters by continuing to make wild claims of voter fraud as he tries to undermine Biden's victory. The president has assailed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, repeatedly for rejecting his fraud contentions and raised the prospect that some ballots might not be counted even as votes were being cast Tuesday afternoon.

Democrats counted on driving a huge turnout of African Americans, young voters, college-educated Georgians and women, all groups that helped Biden win the state. Republicans, meanwhile, have been focused on energizing their own base of white men and voters beyond the core of metro Atlanta.

The results of Georgia poll will determine control of the U.S. Senate and, in turn, the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. Democrats need to win both races to seize the Senate majority — and, with it, control of the new Congress when Biden takes office in two weeks. The Republicans now have a 52-48 majority and a loss in both seats will hand control over to Democrats as vice-president Kamala Harris as the Senate’s presiding officer will have the casting vote in case of a tie.

If Republicans win either seat, Biden would be the first incoming president in more than a century to enter the Oval Office facing a divided Congress. In that case, he would have little shot for swift votes on his most ambitious plans to expand government-backed health care coverage, address racial inequality and combat climate change. A Republican-controlled Senate also would create a rougher path to confirmation for Biden's Cabinet picks and judicial nominees.

Investors believe that a Democrat victory would unleash a wave of spending that could lift the economy and the dollar, but also unshackle slumbering inflation. A rising dollar or higher rates in the US will suck out some of the flows into India market which is hugely dependent on foreign flows.