According to News, Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent from Georgia, is expected to defeat Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the state’s runoff election to succeed a full six-year term in the Senate.
Warnock’s expected victory over Walker gives Democrats a 51-49 Senate majority, a potentially critical boost that caps off a much better-than-expected midterm election season for the party in management of the White House. It is also a major setback for former President Donald Trump, who supported Walker and campaigned for him.
“Thank you very much, Georgia.” “We did it again,” Warnock tweeted late Tuesday. Around 11 p.m. ET, Walker delivered a concession speech to a crowd at his election watch party. “I’m not going to make excuses because we fought hard,” Walker said. The outcome of Georgia’s protract, bitterly competitive Senate race could significantly impact Congress for the remainder of President Joe Biden’s first term and also for the 2024 cycle when Democrats face a difficult electoral map once again.
After neither Warnock nor Walker received more than 50% of the vote in the general election on November 8, the race was decided in a runoff. While Warnock received more votes than Walker, third-party Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver received just over 2% of the vote, preventing either of the two main contenders from clinching a majority, according to NBC News count. However, only Warnock and Walker were on the ballot for the runoff, removing any potential coattail effect that Walker might have benefited from in November when Georgia’s Republican Gov.
Brian Kemp was easily re-elected.
On the other hand, Walker’s gaffe- and scandal-plagued campaign was on full display as more reports about the former NFL star’s personal life surfaced during the runoff period.
Republicans rallied around the ex-NFL star after The Daily Beast and other news outlets revealed that Walker, who campaigned strongly against abortion, had paid for an ex-abortion girlfriend’s years before. Walker denied the allegations, despite his adult son Christian Walker criticising him on social media.
