Raphael Warnock Defeats Herschel Walker in Georgia Senate Runoff: Results

• Raphael Warnock defeated Herschelwalker in the Georgia Senate runoff election.
• Warnock has been elected to a full six-year term. Walker was trying to oust the incumbent Democrat.
• With Warnock’s win, Democrats will have 51-49 support and be less reliantSinema and Manchin.

Republican Herschel Walk was defeated Tuesday by Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s US Senate Runoff. It caps off an explosive race in Georgia, which has been the center for political activity in recent years.

Democrats will have a stronger foothold in Deep South before the 2024 presidential election, thanks to Warnock’s win.

At 7 p.m. EST, the polls in the state were closed.

In the November general election, Warnock won 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5% — a Libertarian candidate won most of the rest — which forcedThe runoff ended in failure of any candidate to receive the required 50% of the vote for an outright win.

The stakes are too high

Although the outcome of the Senate race did not affect Senate control in January, Democrats had already secured 50 seats. However, Warnock’s victory cannot be underestimated.

The win gives Democrats 51 seats, ahead of what could prove to be a difficult Senate map for 2024. However, it has also provided them with more immediate benefits. The party was able to cancel a power sharing agreement for a 50-50 Senate, and add more Democrats in committees. This would allow them to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations more quickly.

In the long-term, Warnock’s victory gives Democratic senators like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia cover to break with the party for critical votes, especially since the vulnerable Democrat faces a difficult reelection campaign in 2024. 

Senate Democrats will also be able to celebrate the victory. less reliantManchin and Sen. Kyrsten Silena of Arizona to adopt legislation in the upper chamber.

The candidates

Warnock was the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta and was elected to Senate in January 2021 with fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff.

Warnock’s vote was vital in passing key pieces of legislation in the evenly-split Senate. These included the American Rescue Plan, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Both passed on party line votes through the reconciliation process.

Walker — a former University of Georgia football standout who won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and went on to play in the NFL from 1986 to 1997 — has been a known quantity in the state for decades.

Trump was a big fan of the Wrightsville, Georgia native and he endorsed him early in his race. This helped him get to an easy victory. victoryDuring May, in the Republican primary.

Walker has been harshly critical of Warnock’s record, accusing him of siding too strongly with Biden and trying to tie him to inflation and other economic problems throughout the country.

But the Republican was doggedWalker was accused of paying for women to have abortions in the old days, which he strongly denied. Walker’s business ties were also come into question during the course of the campaign.

Georgia’s voting history

While Democrats vastly overperformed expectations in the midterms on the national level — retaining their Senate majority while mitigating losses in the House despite Biden’s middling approval ratings — statewide candidates in Georgia not named Warnock were unsuccessful at the ballot box in November.

Stacey Abrams — the breakout star of the 2018 midterms who nearly won the Georgia gubernatorial race that year — lost in a rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp coming up shortNearly 300,000 votes more than the Republican.

And Democratic candidates up and down the statewide ballot, from the nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general to secretary of state and insurance commissioner, all lost their respective races — showing that while Biden may have won the state over then-President Donald Trump in 2020, Georgia has still largely been fertile terrain for Republicans over the past two decades.

Warnock won the special election to fill the term of GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson. He was reelected in January 2021. stepped downFor health reasons, he can be removed from his seat. (Isakson died in December 2021.)

Before Warnock & Ossoff won last year’s races, a Democrat hadn’t won a US Senate Seat in Georgia since Zell Miller in 2000.

Biden’s victory in Georgia 2020 markedIt was the first time since 1992 that a Democratic presidential nominee had won this state.

The money race

According to OpenSecretsWarnock had $150.5 million raised, spent almost $126.2 million and had approximately $29.7 million cash on hand as of November 16. Walker had raised $58.3million, spent $48.5million, and still had $9.8million to spend as of November 16.

As of December 5, many dozen political action committees, superPACs, party and politically active nonprofit organisations had joined forces spentMore than $234 Million was spent on advocacy for or against candidates.

This race was ranked among the most expensive Senate races ever.