Warnock and Walker Was Neck and Neck

UPDATE CNN HAS PROJECTED RAPHAEL WARNOCK HAS WON

ATLANTA (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican former soccer star Herschel Walker have been locked in a decent battle as outcomes got here in from a runoff election in Georgia that may decide whether or not Democrats can increase their razor-thin Senate majority.

With 72% of the estimated vote tallied, Warnock led Walker by 50.4% to 49.6%, in accordance with Edison Analysis. Last outcomes weren’t anticipated till later within the night.

Gabriel Sterling, a state election official, mentioned turnout was excessive, each on Tuesday and thru mail and early voting. “The folks of Georgia have been very excited to vote,” he mentioned on CNN.

The race is a final check of Donald Trump’s clout with midterm voters as he seeks the Republican nomination to problem President Joe Biden in 2024. The previous president, who endorsed Walker, had a combined report in his best endorsements for Congress on this yr’s elections.

Warnock held a commanding lead within the state’s greatest counties, together with the Democratic stronghold of Atlanta. However Walker led in Republican-heavy rural counties, the place vote tallies have been slower to be reported.

Walker’s marketing campaign was affected by repeated gaffes and quite a lot of allegations, together with claims by former girlfriends that he paid for his or her abortions, despite the fact that he has campaigned for the process to be outlawed. He has denied the accusations.

The race was the costliest of the 2022 U.S. midterm election season, with greater than $400 million spent. The competition went to a runoff after neither candidate secured 50% of the vote on Nov. 8.

A victory by Warnock would give Democrats a 51-seat majority within the 100-seat Senate, which might make it barely simpler to advance Biden’s nominees for judicial and administrative posts. Most laws would nonetheless require Republican help.

A Walker win, however, would preserve the Senate at its present 50-50 cut up, with Democrats controlling the chamber due to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.

On a wider scale, a Warnock victory might solidify Georgia as a battleground in presidential elections. It additionally could be one other midterm defeat on the polls for a protege of Trump, who spurred Walker to run.

Not less than 1.9 million folks solid their votes earlier than Election Day, equal to 47% of the Nov. 8 turnout. Analysts say the early votes probably tilted Democratic, which suggests Walker wanted sturdy Election Day turnout from his supporters to beat the hole.

“We should always not relaxation on our laurels. The job isn’t achieved. The reality is my opponent might nonetheless win this election,” Warnock informed a crowd in Norcross, Georgia, on Tuesday.

Warnock is pastor of the historic Atlanta church the place assassinated civil rights chief Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. preached. Each Warnock and Walker are Black.

WALKER’S PAST

Together with the abortion claims, former girlfriends have accused Walker of home abuse. He has additionally confronted accusations that he maintains his main residence in Texas, not Georgia.

Walker has denied the fees, however they could have discouraged some Republican voters. Warnock edged him 49.44% to 48.49% in November, at the same time as Republican Governor Brian Kemp and different statewide Republican candidates simply gained re-election.

At a diner in Marietta, Walker deflected questions on his character, which Warnock made a centerpiece of his marketing campaign.

“Proper now I put my character up towards Raphael Warnock any day,” Walker mentioned on Tuesday.

That is the third Senate runoff in two years within the state – and the second for Warnock, who first gained the seat in a runoff in January 2021. Republicans gained a slim majority within the U.S. Home of Representatives within the Nov. 8 election, however fell in need of the “pink wave” that some within the get together had forecast, regardless of flagging approval rankings for Biden.

Whereas Biden didn’t marketing campaign for Warnock, former President Barack Obama rallied for him in Atlanta final week.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Extra reporting by Jason Lange, Eric Beech and Doina Chiacu; writing by Andy Sullivan; Modifying by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell and Rosalba O’Brien)