Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican football legend Herschel Walker were locked in a tight race Tuesday night in their run-off election that will decide the final U.S. Senate seat.
With votes still being counted across Georgia, Warnock was notching a strong performance in and around the Democratic stronghold of Atlanta, while Walker maintained his advantage in Republican-leaning rural areas.
Democrats are already assured a Senate majority, so the race will determine whether the party has a 51-49 advantage or a 50-50 edge with U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote. Last year, run-off victories by Warnock and fellow Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff gave Democrats control of the chamber for the first two years of President Joe Biden's term.
In the November election, Warnock led Walker by about 37,000 votes out of almost four million but fell shy of a majority, triggering the second round of voting. About 1.9 million run-off votes already had been cast by mail and during early voting, an advantage for Democrats whose voters more commonly cast ballots this way. Republicans typically fare better on election day itself.
The state was on track for a robust election day, with state officials estimating the total number of votes cast to be roughly 1.4 million — slightly more than the November midterm and the 2020 election. But early and mail voting did not reach the same levels as years past, and it was likely the total number of votes cast would be less than the 2021 Senate run-off election.
Voting rights groups point to changes made by state lawmakers after the 2020 election that shortened the period for run-offs, from nine weeks to four, as a major reason for the decline in early and mail voting.
The extended campaign became a bitter fight between two Black men in a major Southern state: Warnock, the state's first Black senator and the senior minister of the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, and Walker, a former University of Georgia football star and political novice backed by former U.S. president Donald Trump.
A Warnock victory would solidify Georgia's status as a battleground heading into the 2024 presidential election. A win for Walker, however, could be an indication of Democratic weakness, especially given that Georgia Republicans swept every other statewide contest last month.
Walker awaited results Tuesday night at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta, while Warnock was at a nearby hotel.
A 51-49 Democratic advantage in the Senate would mean that the party would no longer have to negotiate a power-sharing deal with Republicans and won't have to rely on Harris to break as many tie votes.
In November, Walker, 60, ran more than 200,000 votes behind Republican Gov. Brian Kemp after a campaign dogged by his meandering campaign speeches and by damaging allegations, including claims that he paid for two former girlfriends' abortions — accusations that he denied.
Voting went smoothly Tuesday, despite some cold, rainy conditions in some parts early in the day. Stephanie Jackson Ali, policy director for the progressive New Georgia Project Action Fund, said the group had seen few issues around the state, with lines advancing and equipment issues being addressed promptly.
Biden, Trump not welcome
After the general election, Biden, who has struggled with low approval ratings, promised to help Warnock in any way he could, even if it meant staying away from Georgia. Warnock campaigned instead with former U.S. president Barack Obama.
Wary of possible backlash, Walker avoided campaigning with Trump until the campaign's final day, when the pair conducted a conference call Monday with supporters.
Walker's candidacy was the Republican's last chance to flip a Senate seat this year. Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania, Blake Masters of Arizona, Adam Laxalt of Nevada and Don Bolduc of New Hampshire, all Trump loyalists, lost competitive Senate races that Republicans considered part of their path to a majority.
Walker separated himself from Trump in one notable way. Trump has spent two years falsely claiming that his loss in Georgia and nationally was fraudulent, despite being rebuked by numerous federal and local officials and a long list of courts.
At his lone debate against Warnock in October, Walker was asked whether he'd accept the results even if he lost. He replied with one word: "Yes."
